The Chronicles of Richter, The Exiled
by Alfabem
Summary: A young man who lost everything, family, friends and his home has now arrived in Hoenn to find a new purpose in life, but nothing turns out like he hoped it would. Rated M for graphic violence, AU!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! This is my very first Fanfiction and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it. Now I have been writing this story for quite some time and I have completed 14 Chapters already, but I want to upload them slowly. Probably every second or third day for now

Other than that, enjoy yourself and please review :D

* * *

Hoenn, a bright and colorful region full with all sorts of pokemon and humans alike. Grassy fields, sandy deserts, crystal clear seas and a fiery mountain in the middle. An idyllic place to go and visit, not only for tourists, but also trainers wanting to challenge the champion of the region.

After the defeat of Team Magma and Team Aqua, the region returned to it's peaceful self for what

was meant for years to come.

3 Years after Team Magma's and Aqua's defeat

10:28 AM, Slateport City's harbour, a hooded young man disembarks from a ship and steps onto the land. He is a rather short man at only 5'7, wearing a brown coat and hood covering most of his face, all but a few strands of hazelnut hair and his dark brown eyes. He carries a backpack on his back and has a sword, a katana to be precise, equipped on his hip, sheathed to avoid any further commotion. "Ughh, I should have traveled with first class, those economy class rooms are terrible... They are way too cramped" The young man spoke to himself as he stretched his arm over his head feeling a satisfying pop, "Whatever, I gotta reach Littleroot Town before it gets too dark. Before I go though, I should restock on items and ingredients for my journey" The hooded man mumbled to himself and looked around to spot someone that might be able to help him.

He spots a young woman in a yellow summer dress with a straw hat to protect her from the sun, he approaches her. She had long blonde hair that flowed in the wind and crystal clear blue eyes, like sapphires.

"Excuse me my Lady, but can you tell me where the PokeMart is located?" The man with the coat asked.

"Huh? Who are you?" The young lady asked back. She checked out the man approaching her. She was a curious as to why he was in a hood and had a sword with him.

"Excuse my bad manners, my name is Richter and I was looking for the PokeMart here in Slateport City since I just arrived," the rather strange looking man answered the puzzled woman.

"Oh, hello and welcome to Hoenn!" The lady in the dress answered with a welcoming warm smile on her face, "The PokeMart is just down the street here, there also is a PokeCenter close by to heal any of your Pokemon!"

"Thank you very much, I hope to see your wonderful self again sometime soon," he answered back with a smug smile and gave her a respectful bow.

"Oh please, you're making me blush," She answered, looking away to hide her embarrassment.

Richter turns to the direction the lady pointed out the PokeMart was supposed to be but, before he walked away he said, "Well I have business to attend to, so unfortunately this is where our ways part. Have a nice day!"

"Thank you! You have a nice day too!" The girl in the summer dress said, while waving at our protagonist as he leaves for the PokeMart.

"I almost forgot, I didn't ask for your name, my fair lady. It would be a crime if I didn't have a name to go with such a lovely face," Richter said with a big and warm smile.

"My oh my, aren't we the romantic type? My name is Reese," She answered with another smile on her face. A sudden breeze whipped by causing her to grip tightly to her large hat.

"Reese, what a wonderful name. Just like your smile it reminds me like a summer breeze, beautiful and refreshing on a hot summer day," Richter stated with a soft voice.

"Please stop it, you're embarrassing me!" Reese said blushing again.

"Well now I really have to go, time flies when you spend it with people you enjoy. See you again!" Richter said and then started leaving for his destination.

"Yes, I hope we see each other again," Reese replied while waving as Richter was leaving.

Richter walked down the paved road and sure enough he spotted the blue roofed building right next to the PokeCenter, just like Reese told him. "Hoenn doesn't look that different from the other regions," Richter mumbled to himself as he entered the PokeMart.

Shortly after he was greeted by the store clerk with a big smile "Hello Sir and welcome to our humble PokeMart, today is a special day as we have a sale for potions and other healing items!"

"Well what a coincidence, I was indeed in need of potions. What exactly is on sale?" Richter asked returning the smile. "Half off when you buy 5 healing items or more!" The clerk explained happily.

"That is just perfect, I need ten super potions and one of each status healing item, please!" the customer with the coat explained. "Here you go Sir, that will be 5000 Pokedollars, please!" the clerk informed Richter still having the smile on his face. "Here you go! Have a nice day," said Richter while giving him the money.

"Thank you Sir, and have a nice day yourself too, Sir! And come back again!" The clerk exclaimed as Richter was leaving the building after depositing said Items into his backpack.

Richter, now out on the street again, tried to orientate himself, but failed to do so...again.

"Ughh why do I have the worst sense of direction ever?" Richter said in an audible mumble to himself, luckily someone heard what he said.

"You lost again?" Richter heard someone say to his right. As he turned around he was greeted by a familiar smile. It was Reese approaching Richter this time.

"Well well well, are you stalking me?" asked Richter with a joking laugh.

"Maybe? Maybe not?!" Reese answered also laughing.

"To come back to your question, yes I am lost… again. I want to visit people in Littleroot Town. How exactly do I get there?" Our hooded protagonist answered back.

"Oh that is easy! Just follow this road down and you will enter Route 110, then after a bit of walking turn right onto Route 103 which leads to Oldale Town. Then you have to go southwards again onto Route 101 which leads you to Littleroot Town," Reese happily explained the route in detail for him, knowing the man was possibly going to get lost yet again.

"Oh God, could you write that down for me, please? I really am bad at directions myself, hehe," Richter explained followed by a small chuckle to hide his embarrassment.

"Yeah sure! You got pen and paper? Cause I do not," Reese said softly.

"Yeah I usually have everything with me for emergencies, like this." Richter responded while getting a piece of paper and pen out of his bag and giving it to Reese.

After another short explanation by Reese she hands Richter the piece of paper with the instructions written on it. Her writing was very neat and almost cursive, every dot for the letter "i" was a heart.

"OK, thank you again Reese!" Richter said with a assuring smile on his face.

"No problem! Always glad to help people in need!" Reese reassured Richter.

"Well it is time to part ways again," the young man exclaimed with a little sadness in his voice.

"Yeah I suppose it is..." the fair girl agreed, her voice also filled with a hint of sadness. After an awkward silence, Richter decided to take the initiative and started going his way leaving a saddened Reese behind.


	2. Chapter 2: Scars from the Past

Richter was now on his way on Route 110, while walking, he appreciated the beautiful scenery along the way. Starlys flying among Taillows, chirping the song of their people. Occasionally a Zigzagoon or a Linoone would run along Richter and then scatter again into the bushes.

After a short walk along the route he noticed a path leading to the right, he checked the notes Reese gave him, to orientate himself again. "Okay, this should be Route 103, if I am not mistaken. At the end of it should be Oldale Town." He then proceeded down said route.

"Help! Somebody please come help!" Richter's head snapped towards the cry for help. "Please anyone! We need help! My child is hurt, please! He's dying!"

Richter was quick to locate where the cry was coming from. It was a small clearing in the forest part of the Route.

He couldn't believe what he saw when he arrived at the clearing. A group of Shinx, Luxio and a Luxray surrounding something. After getting closer he saw what they were surrounding and who was crying out for help. It was a Lucario!

"A Lucario? Here in Hoenn?" Our protagonist thought to himself. He then called out to the group of Pokemon.

"Hey there! What are you doing there!" Richter exclaimed picking up speed and getting closer and closer to the group of electric type Pokemon.

The Luxray, supposedly the leader of this pack, turned towards the approaching human, with obvious annoyance in his facial features. "Nothing that would concern you Human!" The Luxray stated.

"It does concern me now!" Richter plainly stated, unsheathed his katana and, got into battle position, poising his sword in front of him holding it with both hands. "Leave him alone and no one else will get hurt!" He exclaimed.

"You understand us? How?" A Luxio asked from behind the Luxray.

"It does not matter if he understands us or not." The leader answered to his underling, "The only thing that matters now is that he also is trespassing into our territory and we just simply cannot accept this kind of behaviour."

The pack of Pokemon then started growling as they slowly approached Richter, ready for a fight.

"Don't make me do this, please!" Richter begged the pack, "Just leave and everyone will be fine."

"Get him boys!" The leader called out as his followers started running towards the hooded figure with killer intent in their eyes. First one to arrive was one of three Luxios who jumped at Richter's neck, mouth gaping and teeth showing.

"Don't say I did not warn you," our protagonist stated before dodging to the side. The Luxio missed his target and landed back on his feet, but Richter did not waste any time and just as his enemy landed, he unleashed a kick with full force. The Luxio did not see it coming and was hit point blank, chucking it towards a nearby tree and knocking it out flat.

"Leave now and no one else will get hurt! This is your last warning!" Richter shouted at the pack, attempting in a last resort to reason with them, "I am sure this is all just a big misunderstanding, the Lucario did not know this was your territory!"

"I do not care if he knew it or not, rules state that everyone that enters our territory uninvited is considered an enemy and must be dealt with," The alpha Luxray explained, "But enough talk, time to die!"

This prompted the other two Luxios to run at Richter, their mouths surging with electricity, getting ready to use Thunder Fang. One jumped and aimed for Richter's shoulder while the other went for his left leg.

The Swordsman poised his katana horizontally towards the Luxio, which was aiming at our protagonist's shoulder. The Luxio, already flying towards our protagonist with full force, noticed that he was heading right into the blade now. It was too late to change its trajectory and collided face first with the blade. The blade cut through the Pokemon cleanly. The poor Luxio, now halved, landed behind Richter in a bloody pulp.

The other Luxio, not realizing what just happened, continued with its attack towards Richter's left leg. The swordsman quickly jumped back and at the same time executed a downward slash at the other Luxio. The Pokemon reacted in time and dodged to the side then proceeded to jump at his adversary. In just one blink of an eye, Richter composed himself and spun around with his katana in his right hand, now performing a horizontal slash towards the attacker.

The Luxio's eyes widened as he saw the blade, slowly approaching his visage. Everything went by in slow motion for him. Just before the cold harsh metal connected with his flesh, he was able to see his own face reflecting from the metal and his life flashed before him. The last Luxio met his demise and was just another lifeless corpse now.

"Take what you have left and leave this place now! There does not need to be any more bloodshed!" Richter screamed at the Luxray, who was now shaking in utter shock.

The leader of the pack took a step back and looked at his shinxs behind him, then to Richter and what was left of his underlings that went for the attack. Several drops of sweat were rolling down his face."This….This is not… This is not going to be the last time we meet!" The Luxray exclaimed and started to run deeper into the woods.

Seeing that the threat has retreated and that it looks safe now, Richter cleaned off his balde of any blood and put it back into its sheath.

He then remembered why he even came for in the first place. The Lucario!

He looked around and found the Lucario again, lying on the ground. He rushed towards it and kneeled beside him to inspect him further.

There he was lying, in a puddle of blood, bite marks all over him, not showing any signs of life.

"Hey, Hey! Are you still alive?" Richter tried to reach out to the victim.

"Ughhh... Riolu…" The Lucario uttered, clearly in pain, "My Son! Please help him!" The Lucario uttered in weak pants, "My son...please, please help him." He gasped out in labored breathes. Richter looked around and indeed he found a Riolu lying in close proximity to his location.

He left the Lucario and went over to the Riolu and upon further inspection he noticed that this is not a simple Riolu. It was in fact a shiny Riolu, its golden fur waving in the wind. He was lying face down on his belly, Richter slowly and carefully turned him around and was greeted by a horrible sight. The Riolu had one huge bite mark across its small body, blood slowly dripping out of the wounds."

"He, he got hit with a Thunder Fang." Lucario managed as it watched the human carefully, "I think he's paralyzed."

"I see, I can and will help him don't worry!" said our protagonist as he swung open his backpack and searched for the Paralyze Heal he just bought, "I knew this would come in handy."

He leaned over the Riolu and started to spray the Paralyze Heal on the wounds and then all over the Riolu. He then took out one of the many Super Potions he just recently bought and proceeded using it on the bite marks. Slowly but surely the bleeding stopped, Richter then pulled out some bandages from his backpack and slowly wrapped it around the Riolu's wounds."This will only help temporarily, he needs professional help," he told the Lucario from where he was, "We need to get you two to a Pokemon Center as soon as possible. There should be one in the town down the route. Can you stand up?"

The Lucario was not answering. "Hey buddy? You hear me? Your son is fine, but he needs better medical attention." Richter said again but he was only answered by silence.

Richter became worried and started to walk towards the Lucario. "Can you hear me?" Richter's face turned grim as he suspected the worst. "Hey can you hear me?" Richter asked as he carefully laid down the smaller pokemon. "Lucario?" Again he was answered with cold silence sending a chill down his spine. He leaned in closer to check for breathing, but was left disappointed.

"No, no, NO! You can't do this! You can't die on me now!" Richter's face turned visibly agitated, "Please don't, please don't! You have to stay alive for your son! Who is gonna raise him, if not you?!"

"You… You will now watch over him...Please…" the Lucario managed to utter, "Please accept my last wish and watch over him…" Richter still completely shocked by what was unfolding before him, "I can see that you have a good heart, use it and, teach my son the important values of life... That is my only wish for life...Thank you…" Where the last words he was able to say before he breathed his last.

"I...I swear to everything that is good and holy to me… I will protect and raise your son the best I can, I will honor your last wish, like I will honor his last wish.." Richter said, closing his eyes and shedding tears upon tears.

This reminded him of the time he lost his best friend...

 _ **Flashback 2 Years ago**_

"Noooooo, Auron you can't leave me!" Richter screamed while holding his partner in his arms, "You said we would be together forever, strife through the regions, fight gyms and defeat the champion of every region."

"Shhh...No need to be sad...I am sure you will do all of that someday, just not with me…" Auron said with heavy breaths between every second word, "I am sure you will find someone else you will enjoy doing all that, just please stop crying. I hate seeing you sad like that. You said yourself that death is part of life and awaits us all." The dying Lucario slowly uttered.

"Stop saying all that! I will never find someone like you again! We grew up together! You're like a brother to me…" Richter uttered between sobs, "I was just five years old and you a new born Riolu, just two weeks old, when we first met. We played with each other everyday, we trained together, we did everything together!"

"If you really respect me then you will honor my last wish?" Auron asked with the little life force he had left.

"Whatever it is Auron. I will promise you I will fulfill your wish no matter the cost!" Richter stated, wiping away his tears."Great… I want you to find a new partner and enjoy life to the fullest. I want you to be happy again, this sad face doesn't suit you. You still have...so much...to live for…" Auron uttered his last words, and fell limp.

"I will never find someone like you ever again, but I promised to honor your wish and by God I will do it! I promise!" Richter said with absolute determination.

 _ **End of Flashback. Back to Present**_

"I can't leave him like this. I have to bury him." Richter muttered to himself, "That is the least I can do for him now."

"Da...Da...Daddy?" Richter turned around to find the Riolu he just bandaged, standing behind him with innocent eyes. "Is my daddy okay, Sir?" The Riolu asked, sadness already filling his voice.

"He...He…" Richter tried hard to not start crying again, though his sadness was very much audible, "He is in a better place now."

"Is he with Mommy again?" the Riolu asked, already tearing up, "I never got to meet Mommy. Daddy said she had to leave us when I was born but she's in a better place. So is Daddy with her now Mister?"

Richter couldn't hold back his tears anymore and they began to flow freely now, "Yes, yes he is now with your mommy again. Do not worry about it anymore."

"But who will now watch after me now? My daddy was the only friend I had. He always looked after me," The Riolu asked, now fully crying, "I don't want to be alone!"

"Your daddy asked me to watch after you," Richter said after composing himself again, "I promised him that I would watch after you." Richter stood up and faced back towards the Lucario. He reminded him too much of Auron. "We will have to bury your father, we can't leave him like this. He deserves better than to just lie here."

 _ **2 Hours Later**_

"Unfortunately we didn't have much time but I think he'd be happy with this." Richter said as both stood before the grave. It was a simple grave decorated with small grey stones and one large rock acting as the grave marker. With a large knife Richter had craved a simple epitaph. "Here lies a brave soul and great father. May he rest in peace."

"I miss my daddy already, Sir," the little pokemon said, his eyes tearing up again. Richter watched as the Riolu collapsed onto the grave and started crying again. It was not something anyone should see or experience, no one should grow up without his or her parents.

After another ten minutes, the Riolu was able to compose himself and was finally ready to part ways.

"What happened to the Luxray and his pack, Sir?" the kid asked, "They just disappeared?"

Richter was taken aback by that question. He did not want to confront him with even more death and misery, not after what just happened.

"I came and shortly after they started to run away. Looked like they got scared of me," Richter said, while scratching the back of his head. He wasn't a good liar, but the Riolu believed him.

Are you also the one that helped me with my wounds?" the youngling asked.

"Yes, thankfully I had a Paralyz Heal and some bandages for you. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to help your father," Richter explained, pained having to mention the recently deceased Lucario again. "How are you feeling now?"

"I am fine, I think. It still hurts but I can walk again," the young one explained, with a small smile on his face.

"Well no matter, I'm still going to carry you to the next PokeCenter. I can't risk your wounds opening again because you stress them too much." Richter explained and then proceeded to pick up the Riolu and hold him in his arms like a newborn. He then went over to his backpack, closed it, and put it on his back. Lastly, he went and took back his sword which he had left next to the grave.

"Its dark, we should hurry," he added and then started to head back to the main path of the route. They walked down the route towards Oldale Town and Richter wanted to check up on the Riolu again, to make sure he feels well.

"How are you holding up, buddy?" Richter asked the Riolu, but got no answer. He looked down fearing the worst only to find that the young pokemon had fallen asleep, curled up in his arms snoring softly. "Sure, take a rest, you deserved it after all you went through today."

After a short march through the night with the with the moon's light lighting the way, Richter made it to Oldale Town and into the Pokemon Center.

There he was greeted by a Nurse Joy, "Good night, Sir! How may I help you?."

Richter quickly hurried to her and explained, "Excuse me Nurse Joy but could you please give my Riolu medical attention. He was severely hurt, he got hit by a Thunder Fang of a Luxio," Richter explained as calmly as he could, so the nurse could understand everything properly.

"I see. Blissey, a stretcher!" Joy called out to her Blissey, who arrived shortly after with a stretcher.

The protagonist put the Riolu down on it and the Blissey went off into the Medical Bay."I also need a room for the night, do you have any left?" Richter asked with a kind smile.

"We do have a couple single rooms left, can I have your trainer card?" the nurse asked while typing on her computer, probably to reserve a room.

Richter looked like he was in distress, "I actually am not an official trainer, thus I do not have a trainer card..."The nurse was confused at first. "We only offer our services to trainers for free, you will have to pay for the medical attention and the room for the night," The nurse stated as a matter of fact.

"Money is not an issue, I just need my Riolu healthy and happy, also a little rest. I will be off in the morning," the hooded figure explained, "Can I pay tomorrow morning? I really need to sleep right now." The nurse checked her computer again and agreed to Richter's wish. She handed him the keycard to his room and told him to take the elevator up to the third floor and look for the room 305.

It really was a simple one-person room. One bed, one couch, a TV and a bathroom. Richter left his katana and backpack on the ground, took off his coat, and undressed himself. He laid in bed and thought to himself, "Tomorrow will be a better day...I hope."


	3. Chapter 3: A Fateful Reunion

_**The next morning:**_

Another day begins in Hoenn. The sun rises in the east, its rays shining through the window. Our Protagonist is still asleep. Suddenly there is a knocking on the door and a voice trying to reach out for him.

"Sir! *knock,knock,knock* Sir! Your Pokemon is healed and is waiting for you in the Medical Bay!" A female voice could be heard.

"Ughh, 5 more minutes please…" Richter said in a muffled voice.

"Sir, it is about to be 10 A.M. and the breakfast buffet is gonna end in an hour!" the voice uttered again.

Richter's eyes shot up upon hearing the last part, "It is already 10 A.M.!" he exclaimed with a loud voice, "I am running late!"

Richter jumped out of the bed and quickly walked to the bathroom. He proceeded to take a shower to refresh himself after yesterday's events.

After finishing up with the shower, he put on some fresh pair of boxers he had taken with him.

"Alright, gotta be fast before I waste more of the day," he said before taking his clothes off the couch he left them on and putting them on. Richter then took his equipment, his katana and his backpack, and left the room. Now in the hallway, he was greeted by a couple of trainers who also got ready to leave or attend breakfast.

"First of all, I gotta get the Riolu from the Medical Bay. Wherever that is..." Richter talked to himself, but he was not the only one in the hallway, so another trainer heard what he just said.

"You looking for the Medical Bay?" a young trainer with a black shirt and plain jeans asked our protagonist.

"Huh? Oh yeah, this is my first time at a Pokemon Center, so I am kinda lost." Richter answered with a smile.

"You just have to take the elevator to the first floor and take a sharp right, there is a big door you can't miss, go through it and you will be in the Medical Bay," the boy explained with a friendly tone of voice.

Just as he finished the sentence, an Espeon, Glaceon and Umbreon came out of the room next to the trainer and started cuddling against his legs.

"I suppose those are yours there?" Richter asked with a smile, "They really seem to like you." The different Eeveelutions looked at Richter and then walked over to him. They seem to have found a liking in Richter too and also cuddled around his legs.

"Well, looks like they really like you too," the boy answered with a light chuckle, "My name is Jake, what's yours?" he said while reaching his hand out.

"My name is Richter," the hooded man replied, taking the boy's hand and shaking it. "Well, Jake, I have to go now, I am already running late. See ya!"

Richter walked down the hallway and entered the elevator, he then pressed the button for the first floor, like Jake told him to. Arriving at the first floor, Richter looked around for the big door Jake was talking about, and lo and behold it was to his right. A big sign above it said: "Medical Bay". "That must be it," Richter thought to himself.

He slowly marched down the hallway leading to the door and proceeded through it.

Richter was now in the medical ward department of the Pokemon Center. It was white all around and smelled like sanitizers. Another nurse Joy was sitting at a desk and was typing on a computer.

Richter approached her and asked, "Excuse me madam, I was told that my Riolu was healed up and ready to be picked up. He was brought here just yesterday."

The nurse Joy looked at Richter for a second and then back at her computer to check if

what he said was true. "We do have a Riolu stationed here, but it was not assigned to a trainer ID or name," the nurse got suspicious and asked, "You claim that it is your Riolu, would you mind telling me what was wrong with him to begin with?

"He got hit by a Thunder Fang, I used a Paralyze Heal on him and bandaged him up. I

brought him here yesterday night, like I said, and he is a shiny Riolu. Any more information you might want to hear?" Richter said, slightly annoyed the nurse did not believe him.

"I guess you are his partner after all," the nurse said in a plain voice, "He is in room 2B, down the hall, left, the second room. He is awake and ready to go."

"Thanks," was the only thing Richter said before heading down the hallway to pick up his Riolu. After a little walk, he found the room and entered.

"Hey there buddy. How are you feeling?" Richter asked with a smile as he entered the room.

The Riolu was still lying in bed and received new bandages covering his body.

"Oh! Hello Sir! I am great, thank you for asking!", the Riolu said happily as he slowly stood up to be around Richter's eyelevel. "I missed you very much! I didn't see you when I woke up and I was concerned you left me too…" the shiny Riolu said hanging his head low, "Will you leave me now that I am healed up?"

"Wow, hold on a second. Where did you get that idea from? Why would I want to leave you?" Richter said while petting the Riolu's head, "I told you, I will protect and raise you like your father asked me to do. I will not leave your side anymore, nothing will keep me away from you!"

"Really?! Yay!" the little pokemon exclaimed happily. It was jumping up and down on the bed, laughing and chuckling the whole time doing so. After what felt like minutes of laughing the Riolu jumped at Richter and hugged him as tightly as he could. "Thank you, Sir! I am really happy that I won't be alone."

Richter was taken aback by that sudden display of affection, but shortly after he returned the hug. "I am also really happy to not be alone anymore…" he said with a tear trailing down his cheek.

"Are you crying, Sir?" the Riolu asked, "Why are you crying?"

"It's…It's nothing really. You don't have to worry about it," Richter dismissed the Pokemon's questions as he brushed the tear from his face, "And you don't have to call me "Sir" all the time. My name is Richter, nice to meet you!" Richter offered his hand, smiling, in a display of respect and friendship.

"Nice to meet you too! My name is...is...I noticed I don't have a name yet," the Riolu just noticed that little fact, "Do you mind giving me a name, Si- eh, I mean Richter?"

"A name you say…Hmmm…How about "Auron"? It was the name of a friend I once had and it would mean a lot to me if you would accept it," The protagonist said, trying to retain a positive attitude even though mentioning his deceased friend.

"Auron? I LOVE it!" the Riolu happily declared, "Great! I am happy you like that name." Richter said with a big smile.

"Oh, right! I have a question for you!" Auron proclaimed happily, "How come you understand us Pokemon? I never met a human that could understand us."

Richter knew that this question would come one day, but had hoped the Riolu would just ignore that fact.

"Well, it all really started when I was a kid. You know, I never knew my parents." Richter started out, his voice becoming heavier with every word, "My parents left me at the gates of a secret temple that housed both Abras and its evolutions as well as Riolus and Lucarios, when I was just 1 year old. The temple was divided into the teachings of the mind and body. The Abras and their evolutions studied the power of the mind, while the Lucarios studied the way of the Aura and the body. I was taken in by them and also started learning their ways. A Mega-Alakazam was the leader of the Mind and a Mega-Lucario was the leader of the Body. To fully socialize with my new friends and family I had to understand them, so the Mega-Alakazam imprinted the pokemon language into my mind. Since that day I can understand every pokemon I meet. I also acquired other skills, like martial arts and aura detection."

"Oh, I didn't know you never saw your real parents, I am sorry," the little Riolu said in a saddened voice, "Wait! You said you also studied the way of Aura? Can you teach me? Please, please, please teach me, Richter!" The Riolu was absolutely frantic and happy at the same time.

"Calm down, Calm down! I'll do my best to teach you everything I know. As I said, I am gonna raise you now. That includes teaching you how to fight properly," Richter stated, "On a side note though, why were you and your dad here in the first place? Lucarios and Riolus are not native to Hoenn and the temple I lived in was located in Sinnoh." Richter was genuinely interested in how they came to Hoenn.

"We are from Unova, but after my Mom died, my Dad wanted to travel across the regions. He said he had nothing left in Unova, now after Mom had died," Auron explained, "We arrived here by ship just the day before yesterday. We didn't know that we were trespassing when we encountered the Luxray pack, because we literally just arrived here." It was audible that Auron is still not over his father's recent death, but he stayed strong and didn't lose his composure.

"I am happy that we were able to share our backstories, it grows our bonds and gets us closer to each other," the young man proclaimed, "We should get going though, we still have to get some breakfast and then we have to get to Littleroot Town. I have business to attend to there."

"Yay, I love food!" Auron exclaimed jumping around again, but then stopped and asked "What do you have to do in Littleroot Town?"

"I am going to meet special people there. People I have not seen in awhile," Richter said looking out of the window in the room. "Well, come on now. The breakfast buffet closed so we gotta find a Cafe or a restaurant to get some food." Richter then proceeded to pick up Auron and left the room, on his way back he greeted the nurse Joy that he met on his way to Auron's room.

"We are leaving now, is there anything I have to do before leaving?" our protagonist asked.

"Since you did not have a Trainer ID or Card you have to pay for his medical attention, you can either pay it here or downstairs at the reception," the nurse stated. "I'll pay at the reception since I also gotta pay for my room," the hooded man said before heading back towards the elevator with Auron in his arms.

Once he had entered the elevator, he pressed the button for the ground floor. After the elevator reached its destination, Richter got out and went to the reception, where the Nurse Joy from yesterday night was sitting at her desk and as usual typing away stuff on her computer.

Richter went over there and greeted her, "Good Morning! I want to pay for my room and the medical attention for my Riolu."

"One second, please. I just have to check what supplies we used on your Riolu to accurately calculate your bill," the nurse said before furiously typing on the keyboard in front of her. "OK, the rooms costs you 1000 Pokedollars, but the medical bill sums up to 25000 Pokedollars. We had to operate on the Riolu right after you brought him in, the wounds were very deep and cut into organs. The adrenaline probably saved his life up until you came and gave him some proper medical attention. He is not allowed to fight or do any kind of difficult physical exercise for at least a week," Joy said looking a little distressed.

"I understand, Thanks for the help! I'll pay via card," Richter said while pulling out a blue card out of one of his backpack's front pouches, "Here you go!" He said before swiping the card into a machine. The nurse thanked him again and waved goodbye as Richter and Auron left the Pokemon Center.

"Why did you have to pay? As far as I know, the services of the Pokemon Centers are free," Auron said with a confused look on his face.

"They are free, for trainers only though. I am not a trainer, that is why I have to pay for it," Richter answered, "But money does not matter to me, I inherited a lot of money and this katana when I left the temple, as a parting gift."

"Thank you again for helping me out! I don't know what I would have done without you!" Auron said happily.

"You don't have to worry anymore, I will stay by your side. Now come on we still have to get breakfast somewhere around here," Richter said and started to walk around town.

After taking a short stroll through the town, Richter noticed a nice little Cafe at the edge of town. "Maybe they have something nice for breakfast in there. What do you think Auron?" Richter asked his partner, while pointing at the Cafe in question.

"Sounds fine to me. I am so hungry I would eat anything right about now," Auron replied, followed up by an audible rumble coming from his belly. That made him blush in embarrassment and turn his face away from Richter to not show that he was blushing.

"I **heard** that," Richter replied chuckling and giving the Riolu a little petting on his head. They then proceeded to enter the establishment and sit at a table for two, facing each other. Shortly after sitting down, a waitress came by with a little notebook in her hand. "Welcome to Valentine's Vanniluxe Cafe, how may I help you?"

"Do you offer any kind of breakfast menus?" Richter asked while putting his hood down.

"We do have a multitude of Berry Sandwiches," the waitress said with a smile on her face. Richter thought for a minute and looked through the menu in front of him

"I'll take two Pecha Berry Sandwiches and a Nanab Berry Tea, please," Richter stated his order and then looked over to Auron and asked, "And what do you want buddy?"

"I'll take ten Oran Berry Sandwiches!" he proclaimed happily, Richter just chuckled and said "He wants four Oran Berry Sandwiches."

"Awww, it's almost like you understand him. I love seeing a trainer and his partner understand each other this well," the waitress said in a very soft and almost childish voice. She then proceeded to write down the order on her notepad and then walked down to the kitchen to forward the order to them.

"Hey! Why did you not order ten Sandwiches like I wanted you to?" Auron asked in an angry voice while also crossing his arms.

"First off all, your wounds are still serious, you heard what Nurse Joy said. Eating so much would strain your body. Secondly, you will have to learn to be modest and considerate. And third, my word is rule from this day on," Richter announced in a serious yet considerate voice, like a father would talk to his child.

"I guess you are right, I am sorry…" the shiny Riolu said, in a saddened and apologetic voice, "I didn't want to anger you, I guess I got too excited…" Auron's head hung low. Richter was concerned if he was too harsh on him already, he never really raised anything in his life before. He just tried to apply the rules he grew up with in the temple on Auron.

"Look, you didn't anger me or anything. I actually might have overreacted, but still I want you to listen to me carefully. I am not only your partner, but also kinda your foster father, so I always and only will have your well being in mind when I propose these rules. You understand?" Richter said in a stern but also apologetic tone. He was feeling bad for making Auron sad, but he really cared a lot for him.

"I do understand, but I hope you understand that this is all so sudden for me. This is not something that one experiences everyday," the Pokemon explained, "I think we both have to deal with this situation by making compromises with each other."

"Wow, that was awfully mature from you Auron," Richter was genuinely surprised by what Auron just said, it was a very calm and collected proposal on how to comp with this situation, "I agree with what you said, I can't just impose rules on you if you do not agree with them. You might still be young, but you have your own sense of self. I respect that."

"Yay, does that mean I get my ten sandwiches?" Auron jumped up again and a huge smile formed on his face.

"Not so fast. You are still hurt and as long as you are I will make some decisions for you. At least the ones that concern your health," Richter countered.

" *Sigh* Fine," Auron admitted defeat and sat back down, patiently awaiting his breakfast to come.

Shortly after their conversation, the waitress came back with the food the two ordered, "Here you go Sir, two Pecha Berry Sandwiches and a Nanab Berry Tea as well as four Oran Berry Sandwiches for the little ball of fluff over here," the last part was said in a high pitched voice, "I hope you enjoy it!"

"Thank you very much!" Richter said and began munching down on his sandwiches. Auron made himself comfortable on his chair and also started eating his fair share of sandwiches. After about 20 minutes, both finished their respective breakfast and were ready to leave the etablissement. Richter called for the waitress again to pay the bill, the waitress noticed Richter's raised hand and started walking towards his table.

"How may I help you, Sir?" the young woman asked. "I would like to have the bill, please," Richter simply stated.

"Of course, Sir. Here you go. That will be 340 Pokedollars, please!"

Richter reached out to his pockets and gave her a 500 Pokedollar bill, "You can keep the rest."

"Thank you very much Sir. That is really generous of you. Have a nice day!" she said, while our two protagonists got up and started to leave the building, "Thanks, have a nice day yourself," Richter replied politely..

"OK, now we gotta head down Route 101. Are you ready to head off, Auron?" The young man asked his partner Pokemon.

"Sure! Let's go!" Auron happily exclaimed and started running off. "Hey wait, don't run too fast, you could trip and hurt yourself again!" Richter called out to Auron while picking up speed to catch the escaping Pokemon.

"Gotcha!" the hooded figure said as he caught up on the Riolu and snatched him from the ground and proceeding to throw him in the air, like a father would do with his child in a playful manner.

"Hahaha, Stop it! Hahaha!" the small Riolu cried out to Richter while laughing uncontrollably. After a couple more throws into the air, Richter stopped and let him get down on the ground again.

"I am kinda embarrassed to say this...but...can you...ehm…" Auron started out a sentence but could not bring himself to end it.

"Come on! Spit it out already!" Richter said with a smile.

"Well...can you hold my hand while we travel down the Route? My Dad used to hold my paw when we traveled together. I would really appreciate that." he said blushing, clearly embarrassed by the request he made.

"If that is what your dad did, who am I to not do at least the same, when I was chosen to look after you? Give me that paw of yours!" Richter said offering his right hand, followed up by a chuckle.

"YAY!" Auron yelled as he reached out for Richter's hand.

Together they happily marched down the short route and finally arrived in Littleroot Town. "Finally in Littleroot Town," Richter said in a rather serious tone.

"Now that you are here, what are you here for in the first place?" the young pokemon asked. "I'll show you," Richter answered in the same tone as before.

Together they walked over to a house, southwest of the town and knocked on the door.

A woman in about her forties opened the door and greeted them, "Hello there, how may I help you, young man?" she said in a friendly voice. "Don't you recognize me…" Richter said and then lifted his hood so his face was fully revealed to the woman, "...Mother?"


	4. Chapter 4: The Past cannot be undone

"It has been a while mother, almost 20 years to be precise," Richter said to the woman in front of him, "After all this time, I have returned."

"No, that can't be!" Richter's mother said, utterly shocked, her eyes tearing up, "How did you find us?" she said while starting to cry

"Who is it honey? Is it Professor Birch again?" A man in his fifties came to the door. Only when he fully saw who the guy in the coat at his door is, did he utter again, "Ri...Rich...Richter!? Is that really you?" The man took a step back, his eyes also starting to tear up.

"I want to talk to you both, may we come in?" Richter asked,

"We? Who is we?" The mother asked, a little confused. Richter then moved to the side to reveal Auron, the shiny Riolu, behind him.

"This is Auron, my partner Pokemon."

"Of course, please enter," the father said while making a inviting hand gesture. Richter nodded and Auron and he entered the house.

They were now located in the living room of the house, a big room with 3 couches, a TV, a big round table, some cupboards and a fireplace. "Please make yourself at home, after all, this is your home," Richter's father said.

Richter walked over to one of the couches and sat down, Auron followed him and positioned himself next to Richter on the couch. His Mom and Dad walked over to the couch opposing Richter and sat down together.

"Well, ehm…How have you been Richter?" The mother asked sheepishly, "How did the temple treat you?

Richter raised an eyebrow after hearing what she just said and gave her an appropriate answer, "I am alive, so I suppose it was not that bad, eh?"

"Whatever. I am here to ask you some questions," Richter said with a serious voice, "First of all the obvious one. Why did you leave me there?"

"Look, Richter, it was not because we didn't want you or hated you. Your were just one year old after all," his father began answering, "We were running away from an organisation. We just had you and we did not wanted you to get harmed, so for your own sake we left you at the temple."

Richter was not satisfied by that answer, "What organisation was looking for you? How did you know about the temple, it is suppose to be a secret!" Richter exclaimed.

"It was an organisation called "Team Neo Terra" and their aim was to create a new world for humanity. You know, I was a scientist working in Mossdeep City's research facility for potential portal to a new dimension, where another Earth like this one might exist. They started hunting down the members of the team that was working on that project and that included me. We wanted to keep you away from that danger, so we traveled to Sinnoh in hope to escape them, but we were wrong. They found us shortly after arriving, not even the police was able to help us because they did not have any evidence for their malicious intends," Richter's father explained, "I have a friend in Sinnoh who studies legends and myths all around the globe and he told me that there is a secret temple there in Sinnoh. We knew that they would follow us everywhere, but we wanted you to be safe, so we found that temple and left you there with the pokemon. They accepted our request to watch after you for the price of never getting you back. I am sorry you had to go through all of this."

"I...did not know…I am sorry for your situation as well, but what happened after that?" Richter asked, curious about what is to come. Richter's father continued.

"Actually just when we handed you over to the Mega-Alakazam and Mega-Lucario, multiple members of Team Neo Terra appeared and tried to capture us. The leaders of the temple told them to leave and not disturb this place, but they did not comply and tried to fight them, to no avail. The Mega-Alakazam turned them into mindless corpses basically, he said he destroyed their minds beyond any repair. We thanked them for their help and left, that's it basically. Since then nobody looked for us and we were able to continue living peacefully here in Littleroot Town after I quit my Job," The old man finished telling his side of the story, "Now I have a question for you, how did you learn about us and actually find us?" The father was sincerely curious about how Richter was able to track them down after so many years

"The Mega-Alakazam told me that I was left in front of the gates by my parents and they were nice enough to pick me up and raise me, that is at least the story they told me up until recently," Richter started his side of the story, "They told me about who my real parents are and where you are located after...after I got exiled from the temple."

"You got exiled from the temple, but why?" the mother asked, surprised to hear what he just said.

"I refused to accept a certain rule they imposed on me," Richter said in a very serious and grim voice, "When I turned 18 I had to prove what I learned from them, they said I am going to be trialed by combat. I accepted at first, up until they showed me who my opponent is," Richter sighed, but continued on with his story, "It was my childhood friend, a Riolu called Auron, we grew up together, played together, learned and studied together, we did everything together since I was 5 years old. At first I thought that it will be a battle where the first that goes down will be the loser, but I was wrong...very wrong. They wanted to simulate a fight to the death, where the loser is to be killed. I was not going to go through with that demand and neither was Auron at that time. The Mega-Lucario became very angry about our decision and challenged us to a duel, a 2vs1 fight against him. If we were to win, he would let us go, if we were to lose...He would kill one of us."

"Well? What happened then?" the old man asked. It was very hard for Richter to talk about all of this, but his parents as well as his partner deserved to know the story of his life.

"Auron and I accepted the challenge of course, we were not gonna fight each other to death, no matter what. He jumped down from the podium he was standing on and got into a battle stance, me and Auron nodded to each other and got into our battle stances.

 _ **Flashback 2 Years ago**_

"You will regret opposing me!" Auroros, the Mega-Lucario said, "No one ever dared to disobey our commands!" He was visibly agitated, but Richter and Auron were not intimidated.

"We are not afraid of you Auroros, our bond will let us prevail!" Auron said with a very determined voice.

"Auron is correct, everyone has his limits and today you will see yours!" Richter chimed in.

Mantra, the Mega-Alakazam, was watching from his podium and did not intervene.

A gong was rung and Auroros started sprinting towards his two opponents, once he reached them, he unleashed flurry of fists at both Auron and Richter at the same time. Richter was only human and had his limits, but he was a natural when it came to blocking, evading and countering blows. Auron on the other hand was the opposite, he was talented in finding the enemies weak spots and relentlessly striking at those points, but nothing could have prepared them for what was about to come.

Auroros was a force to be reckoned with, since he was in permanent mega evolution state his moves were very fast and devastating, one mistake and that would be the end of the fight. Richter was evading or blocking every hit that was coming at him, but could not find an opening to counteract and get a hit in himself, Auroros attack and defense were seemingly perfect.

The fight went on for a good 15 minutes and our two friends started to get tired while Auroros did not show any signs of exhaustion. Then it happened. Auron missed a strike and was immediately countered by Auroros with a Force Palm attack to the stomach. It made Auron crumble, but not before Auroros gave him an uppercut to the chin.

"That's what you get for getting cocky, kid." Auroros said and spit on Auron after he hit the floor. Richter got furious after seeing what just happened to his best friend.

"You will regret what you just did!" Richter exclaimed from the top of his lungs. With new strength gathered from his anger, Richter went on the offensive, throwing out punches whenever he gets the chance to. Even Auroros was surprised by Richter's new found power and determination, but was still not enough. Richter was blinded by rage and failed to keep his guard up, Auroros did not waste anytime upon seeing an opening and struck down on Richter with a High Jump Kick, knocking Richter down with one hit.

"This is the reason you should obey to what we say!" The Mega-Lucario said while towering over Richter, "And now for the punishment."

"Go ahead, kill me!" Richter managed to utter while lying on the ground. "No, not you. I want you to suffer the most, but death would be too nice of a punishment for your treason." Auroros said and then started walking towards Auron, who was still covering in pain.

"But you on the other hand, I did not think a fellow Lucario would disobey my commands. You were one of my favorite students, too bad it has to end like this, really." the leader of the Lucario said and proceeded to pick up Auron by his neck and starting to choke him in the air. Auron struggled the best he could, but was simply overpowered.

"I am sincerely sorry it had to come to this, but you guys insisted on it," Auroros said while continuing to choke Auron. Richter tried to stand up and help his friend, but it was too late... Auroros readied up a Focus Punch while holding Auron and then unleashed it. It went right through Auron's chest, punching a hole through it. "What a waste of a good Pokemon," was the last thing Auroros said before releasing his grip on Auron and letting him hit the floor. He then jumped up back to his podium.

When Richter realised what just happened, he managed to stand up and run towards his friend. He inspected the damage that was done and crumbled beside his friend, tears flowing like waterfalls from his eyes.

"NOOOOOOO, AURON YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!" Richter screamed while holding his partner in his arms, "You said we would be together forever, strife through the regions, fight gyms and defeat the champions of every region."

"Shhh...No need to be sad...I am sure you will do all of that someday, just not with me…" Auron said with heavy breaths between every second word, "I am sure you will find someone else you will enjoy doing all of that, just please stop crying, I hate seeing you sad like that. You said yourself that death is part of life and awaits us all."

"Stop saying all that! I will never find someone like you again! We grew up together! You are like a brother to me, not just my partner…" Richter uttered between sobs, "I was just 5 years old and you a new born Riolu, just 2 weeks old, when we first met. We played with each other everyday, we trained together, we did everything together!

"If you really respect me then you will honor my last wish?" Auron asked with the little life force he has left.

"Whatever it is Auron. I will promise you I will fulfill your wish no matter the cost!" Richter stated, wiping off his tears.

"Great… I want you to find a new partner and enjoy life to the fullest. I want you to be happy again, this sad face does not suit you. You still have...so much...to live for…" Auron uttered his last words, and fell limp.

"I will never find someone like you ever again, but I promised to honor your wish and by God I will do it! I promise!"

Finally Karma spoke up, "You have disobeyed us and suffered the consequences for it, but this is not all. You are now permanently banned from the temple, you will have to leave tomorrow by sunrise. You will be awarded with wealth and this katana for your services all those years." Karma let a katana fly towards Richter via telekinesis and let it drop beside him.

"As if I would have stayed any longer after this, I will leave RIGHT NOW!" Richter cried out, still enraged and saddened by what had just happened before his very own eyes.

He stood up, took the katana and went to his room in the temple. Richter started packing his backpack and headed back out again. He was stopped by a fellow Abra who handed him a card, "This is a card that has access to the wealth of the temple, you may use it whenever you need it. From this point on you will never have to worry about money again."

"Thank you, I will keep this and the katana so I will never forget my time here with you all. Be careful," Richter said with a smile and then started heading out. While on his way to leave this place, he was stopped by Karma again.

"Your parents are still alive and live in a Town called 'Littleroot Town' in the Hoenn region. You should go visit them when you feel ready to do so," the Mega-Alakazam said.

"I will keep that in mind, but it will probably take some time until I am ready," Richter answered and then proceeded to leave the temple, once and for all.

 _ **End of Flashback**_

"Then I lived in Sinnoh for 2 more years. After that, I decided to come and see you and now I am here," Richter finished the story.

"I am sorry for your loss, Richter," the mother said as she approached Richter for a hug.

"I am sorry too for everything you had to go through because of us," his dad chimed in also going for a hug.

"Oh no! I am really sorry for your loss, Richter. I am honored to wield the name of your best friend!" Auron stated also going for a hug.

They ended up in a big group hug, "Thank you guys, I really needed to get this off of my chest…" Richter said, tears flowing from his eyes while embracing all the hugs.


	5. Chapter 5: The Journey Begins

"Wow, I didn't expect this to to turn so emotional," Richter said, brushing off his tears, "but I am happy that we were able to talk and sort out things with each other," he continued with a smile.

"I am also happy that you don't hold a grudge against us for what we put you through," Richter's mother said, "but now that everything is over, what are you going to do?"

"No, mother, everything just has begun. Now that I have a partner again, I want to do what I dreamed to do with Auron," Richter began explaining, "Go out, defeat the gyms and become Hoenn's champion!" Richter announced with a smile and a victory pose.

"Well, to do that you will need to get a Trainer Card and ID from Professor Birch," the father explained, "You are lucky, he should be in his lab right now."

With that said Richter said his goodbyes to his parents and left the house, now heading for the Professor's laboratory after asking a villager where it was and finding it. Right when he wanted to enter, two kids ran out the building, each with a pokeball in hand. After seeing them head out of town, Richter turned back towards the building and entered it.

"Hello? Is Professor Birch here?" The young man asked while looking around the laboratory, "I want to get a Trainer Card and ID, so I can embark on my journey to be the very best, like no one ever was."

"Huh? Oh, hello there young man. How may I help you?" The Professor came around a corner from a different room.

"I wanted to get a Trainer Card and ID so I can go challenge the gyms and the champion!" Richter announced confidently.

"Well, seems like we do have an aspiring trainer here!" The Professor says with a smile, "OK, let me just take a picture of you and then you can go and pick your starter."

"About that. I already have a partner pokemon, my shiny Riolu over here," our protagonist said and pointed at Auron that stood right beside him.

"Wow! How did I not see that? Hahaha!" Birch laughed and gave himself a facepalm, "You know what? I just had two kids take their starters and there is one left. I'd hate to just leave it here in the laboratory. So, how about you take it with you, consider it a gift!"

"Sure, you probably know what the saying is. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Richter replied with a smile.

"Great! Now say 'Cheese!', so I can take your photo," the professor said, pulling a camera out of his pocket and aiming it at Richter. The hooded soon-to-be-Trainer put a big smile on his face.

"My, what a handsome and charismatic young man we have here!" The Professor said and took the picture necessary to complete the registration. "On a different note, may I take closer look at your partner there? You don't see many Riolus here in Hoenn. None to be exact and seeing a shiny one right in front of me is an incredible opportunity to take a closer look. Please?" The Professor started begging.

"Woah, calm down Professor! You gotta ask him not me, he is gonna be the one that is going to be examined," Richter explained. Birch crouched down and walked over to Auron and asked him "Can I take a closer look at you, please? I promise it won't hurt!"

"Sure, but please watch my wounds since they are still fresh," Auron said. Professor Birch, of course, didn't understand what the Riolu said, so he looked back to Richter and asked, "What did he say? You are his partner, you would understand him better than I could."

"He said it is fine as long as you watch his wounds he got under those bandages," Richter explained, "Wow, I can already see that you have a great connection between each other," the Professor said and started taking a closer look at Auron.

"This is absolutely marvelous! Where on earth did you find him?" He asked while further examining the Riolu in front of him.

"Well, it is a little complicated…" Richter started out explaining, but not before Auron chimed in, "It is OK if you tell him what happened. He seems like a nice person and ignoring my past would be dishonoring to my parents," little Auron said to Richter. Richter then gave Auron a nod and continued.

"I saw him here in Hoenn, on Route 103 on my way here to Littleroot Town. His father was killed by a pack of Shinx and their evolutions and he was just lying there paralyzed by a Thunder Fang attack. I took him with me and brought to the Pokemon Center in Oldale Town, where they operated on him. Now he is my partner and won't leave my side," Richter finished his explanation on how he met Auron, with a few adjustments to it.

"That is horrible! I pity you my little friend, you meeting him there was a blessing in disguise," Birch stated to Auron, "This is a little late, but do you guys have names?" The Professor asked with another smile.

"I am Richter and the little fella in front of you, I named him Auron," our protagonist told the Professor.

"Nice to meet you guys!" Professor Birch said and reached out his right hand to Richter and then to Auron. They shook hands and then proceeded to head over to a different part of the laboratory.

"Here is your Trainer Card, the ID is on it's back," Birch handed over the card, "Now for the starter that was left over. Follow me over here, please!"

The three moved over to a table where one pokeball was left on.

"I suppose this is the lonely soul?" Richter asked.

"Yes, you want to welcome him?" The Professor asked.

"Sure!" Richter said before picking the pokeball up and throwing it in the air. The ball opened and out came...A Treecko!

"Well, hello there little guy! My name is Richter," the young man introduced himself, "and this is my partner Auron, the Riolu."

"Are you my new master? I have not been picked by anyone for five years now, it does not seem like I am very popular," the treecko said with his head hanging low.

Richter was shocked by what the Treecko just said and asked the Professor "How long has the Treecko been here?" The Professor started scratching the back of his head and had a distressed look on his face.

"You know, people dislike the grass starters in general, so they keep staying with me until someone decides to take them. This Treecko is a very unfortunate fella. He has been here for about five years now. It broke my heart everytime he was not picked yet again."

"Well no matter what has happened before. Today is the day you leave this place for good and go on an adventure with me! Your lonely days are counted and from now on there is only glory to be found!" Richter exclaimed reaching out his hand for the Treecko to take.

The Treecko started tearing up and then it turned into full on crying out of happiness. With a huge smile and tears running freely down its cheek, the little grass starter lunged at Richter and threw him down on the ground with its sheer force.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Treecko said while nuzzling his face into Richter's coat and hugging him as tightly as possible.

"Woah there little buddy, you don't have to thank me," Richter said, standing up again while putting the Treecko on his right shoulder.

"OK, now we need a name for you though. Hmm…How about Alexander?" The young man suggested. "I love it! It is a great name!" The green pokemon exclaimed.

"Yes it is a great name for a great pokemon!" Richter stated.

"I can already see that you guys are meant for each other!" The Professor added in.

"Thank you for your help Professor Birch! Hoping to see you again one day," the hooded man said as he was about to leave. "Wait just a second! I almost forgot to give you this here."Professor Birch pulled out a Pokedex from his lab coat's pocket and handed it over to Richter, "With this device you can easily analyze every pokemon you come across, just point it towards a pokemon, like this, and it will give you every bit of information it has." The Professor then proceeded to point it at Alexander to show off the Pokedex' abilities.

"Treecko, Male, Moves: Pound, Leer and Absorb," The machine stated with a female voice.

"Nice and useful. Thank you again Professor!" Richter said with a smile and then put the Pokedex in one of his coat's pockets.

"You don't have to thank me like that, I have to thank you for taking that Treecko, I am sure he will be a great companion alongside your Riolu!" The Professor said and then proceeded to lead our protagonists out the building, "Now go and conquer the gyms and get into the Hall of Fame!" Birch told Richter as he was leaving the building and heading out back To Route 101 towards Oldale Town.

"Today marks a the day our journey truly begins!" Richter said and gave Alexander and Auron a high five, "Let's Go!"

Just as Richter said that, a bright light engulfed Auron, making him shine bright like the sun. After about ten seconds the light faded and before our protagonist and Alexander stood...A Lucario. Auron has evolved into a Lucario, his fur colored in gold and blue, glimmered in the sunlight.

"Auron! You…You evolved!" Richter exclaimed with a happy voice, "And your wounds also completely healed!"

"Wow, you look really cool and strong!" Alexander added.

"This was only possible thanks to you, Richter. Your love and friendship towards me and everyone we have met so far, led to me evolving. You probably know it best that Riolus only evolve when their friendship with someone is unbreakable and now that we are off to travel together through the region I can't possible think of anything that would break that friendship," Auron explained with a deeper voice than usual since he evolved.

"I really appreciate these kind words, Auron, and I also think nothing can break our relationship anytime soon," Richter added to what Auron just said and went in for a hug to reinforce each other's statements.

"I hope I can also be a good friend and partner to you, Richter," Alexander chimed in from the side, "Oh, don't worry about that, Alexander. I am sure we will be great friends!" Alexander's new trainer reassured him.

With all that said, the group went on to Route 101 and officially started their journey through the region.


	6. Chapter 6: No Pain, No Gain

"Off to Rustboro City and the first gym!" Alexander announced happily while throwing a fist in the air.

"Not so fast little guy, none of you have real battle experience yet. I can't just go off and battle a gym leader like this," Richter explained to his green little friend, "I am going to train you both personally. What moves can you use, Auron?"

"My dad taught me Counter, Endure, Quick Attack and Force Palm. Now that I am a Lucario, I learned to use Metal Claw and Power-Up Punch," Auron explained.

"That is a really good basis to go with. This will make my life easier. Follow me to a remote area, where we can train without being disturbed," the young man said and walked down the route. Shortly after, he spotted a little glade in the woods and pointed his finger there to show his companions.

"That place looks perfect for a little training," Richter stated and started walking towards it, his friends walking right beside him.

Once they arrived at the glade, Richter took off his coat and backpack as well as his katana and put them aside, near a tree. He then motioned Auron to stand opposite to Richter, so they face each other.

"OK, we are gonna start with some basic stuff. I will try to teach you Quick Guard, Swords Dance and the iconic move of Aura users, Aura Sphere," Richter said.

"One minute, please! How are you going to teach Auron pokemon moves? No, better question! How are you able to understand what we are saying, I just noticed you answer to everything we say?" Alexander asked, confused by the whole situation "Oh right, you are new to the whole group here, like literally ten minutes. Well, I am going to give you the short version of the story because I want to use this day to train rather to tell," Richter started out explaining his past. After about fifteen minutes, Richter covered the most important aspects that might interest Alexander.

"And that is how I met Auron, know the pokemon language and can teach him and hopefully you, how to fight," Richter ended his explanation, "any more questions?"

"I can't believe it! You are amazing! I am so happy to be you one of your partners!" Alexander happily announced and proceeded to sit back and watch Richter teach Auron some moves.

"OK then, now that everything is said and done. Let's proceed to the training part of the day," our protagonist said and sat down, cross legged across Auron, "First of all we gonna start with Swords Dance. Despite it's name, you don't actually dance with swords."

"You don't say? Really? I did not expect that," Auron countered in a very sarcastic tone and a smirk on his face.

"Ha ha ha...Now time to get serious. Swords Dance is actually a special breathing technique that enhances your stamina, endurance and most importantly physical strength. I, for example, am in constant Swords Dance status since I basically adopted that breathing style as my normal breathing," Richter started his lesson, "You start out by taking in as much air as you can through your mouth, keeping it in for three seconds and then exhaling it again. You then continue to do that through your nose afterwards. It is pretty simple once you get used to it. It calms down your blood pressure, your heart rate and cleanses your mind so you can completely focus on the battle at hand. Now do as I said.

"OK, I got this," the Lucario said and started executing said method of breathing, "I think I am getting the hang of it.

"Good, good, you continue doing that and I start training with Alexander," the teacher said and walked towards his Treecko.

"Oh, great! What are we gonna train? Leaf Storm, Energy Ball, Solar Beam?" The grass pokemon asked with excitement while punching the air.

"I love your enthusiasm and determination, Alexander, but we have to start a little slower. We are gonna train your body, specifically your speed," Richter announced, "I want you to run around this glade as fast as possible, I will measure your time and will say if it was good or not.

"Got it!" Alexander said with a serious and determined voice, he then entered a running stance and waited for Richter's signal.

"On three. One. Two. THREE!" Richter exclaimed and waved down his right hand to signal Alexander to start running. Meanwhile, Auron was sitting cross legged and practicing the breathing technique Richter showed him.

Alexander was trying his best and ran as fast as he could around the glade. After a short sprint at the end of the glade, he arrived next to Richter again.

"I think that was pretty fast, what do you think?" Alexander asked, " Fifteen seconds. Well, for a Treecko it was OK I suppose, but as I said before we are gonna train you so you can do this faster," the mentor explained to the pokemon.

"Even faster?" The little gecko pokemon asked, slightly shocked.

"Well, Sceptiles are known to be one of the fastest pokemon in the world, so we gonna make you THE fastest one," Richter said with confidence but seriousness in his voice, "Here. Take my backpack, strap it on your back and start running around the glade again!" The young man ordered the Treecko, "but don't overdo yourself! You don't have to prove anything to me, today."

"No problem! I got this!" Alexander said and ran off to the backpack and strapped it on his back, but just as he was about to run, he fell to the ground.

"What?" The starter questioned what just happened. He then tried to pull the backpack, but was stopped in his tracks, "How much does this weigh?!"

"Huh? Oh about 100 pounds I think, I have everything for an emergency in there so it might be a little heavy," Richter explained, "Let me remove some things, so you can actually carry it around."

He then went over to his backpack and pulled out a medikit, several lunch boxes, some bottles of water, a compass, some tools and... a map!

"Wait! I had a map all along? Ughh, I forgot I took one with me when I left SInnoh," Richter said and gave himself a facepalm, "Whatever! The backpack should be around 20 pounds now. This should be perfect for you!"

Alexander tried to pull on the backpack again and he was now able to do so.

"Great, now go on and run around the glade for as long as you can, if you get hungry you can take some food from the several lunchboxes over there." Alexander gave Richter a nod and started running off, slowly but surely he made his way around the glade. While the Treecko was busy running around, Richter decided to look after Auron and how he is doing.

"And how are you doing? Can you already keep up the state?" The young mentor asked, curious about his students development.

"I think so, I feel a lot calmer and focused now," Auron stated, "OK, show me!" Richter challenged Auron.

"Try to hit me! If you succeed, you'll receive a prize," Richter finished saying, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and entered a battle stance, "Show me what you got!"

Auron breathed in and out like Richter told him and also entered his battle stance. They both circled around, not losing focus. Suddenly, Auron started to sprint towards his opponent, his right hand glowing, preparing to hit Richter with a Force Palm. Richter, being the more experienced fighter, saw the attack coming and dodged to the side. Auron spun around and tried to hit Richter with a Roundhouse Kick to the head. Richter smiled and grabbed the leg that was flying at him and proceeded to throw Auron over his shoulder into the ground.

"Come on! You gotta try harder!" Richter taunted his student in a playful manner.

Auron fell for it and charged directly at Richter. After he closed the distance, Auron unleashed a flurry of fists, all aimed at Richter's face. Richter's smile did not fade in the face of battle, he skillfully blocked all the attacks and caught one of Auron's paws in his hand. Auron was shocked and tried to free himself, but Richter's grip didn't loosen. Auron thought that while one of Richter's hand is occupied holding his paw, he could sneak in a punch. He readied another Force Palm and this time aimed for Richter's chest, he was sure that this should hit.

Richter saw the glowing in Auron's other hand and prepared himself for the attack, he released Auron's other paw and used his, now free, hand to smack down Auron's other paw that was gunning for his chest. With the other hand, he unleashed an uppercut and hit Auron's chin with it. Auron flew a few feet in the air and away from Richter and was not able to stand up right after.

"Oh, shit! That might have been a little too much," the young mentor said and ran off towards Richter. Just as Richter arrived and kneeled down to check on his friend, Auron performed a sweeping kick, making Richter fall. While Richter was falling, Auron used Metal Claw with one paw and Force Palm with the other and aimed directly at Richter.

Everything started to slow down for Richter and he supported himself with one hand on the ground and jumped to the side before Auron could hit him.

"Whew, that was too close!" Richter said while brushing himself off dust, "You almost got me there! Nice little trick you used there!" He announced with a smile.

"How did you dodge that? I was absolutely sure I was gonna hit you, you were falling!" The shiny Lucario exclaimed, seriously confused and curious on how his teacher was able to dodge the attacks.

"Well, this is also something you are going to learn later, it is called Extreme Speed. When you use it, you move so fast that everything else moves in slowmotion. I used that in times of peril to escape sticky situations or finish a fight before it even begins. It is an advanced move though, so it is gonna take time to learn it. We won't have to time train it today though," Richter explained.

"Damn it! I really wanted to show you that I can defend myself…" Auron said in a rather dull voice, obviously disappointed that he could not prove himself.

"Hey, there buddy, no one said that you are here to prove anything to me. This is a learning experience, some of it involved pain in some way or another. I am a more experienced fighter than you, so there is no shame in losing. I have been fighting since I was a kid, basically my whole life in the temple was one big fight, that still is not concluded. This does not mean you didn't impress me, for someone that did not fight a lot in his life, you had some pretty nice tricks and strategies to fall back to. We just take those things and refine them into perfection," Richter said in a soothing voice to show no hostility or disappointment to his training partner, while also giving him a hand as a sign of peace and friendship.

Auron reaches out his right paw and takes Richter's hand, "I should have never tried to prove something in the first place, I felt like I was obliged to show you that I can take care of myself. I don't want to be a burden to you when we travel across the region, I want to be the one that protects you one day!" He tried to explain his side of it while scratching the back of his head, which was already hanging low so he would not see Richter's face, with his other paw.

"Look at me," Richter said and pushed Auron's head up so they look in each other's eyes, "I never, ever thought of you as a burden. Quite the contrary actually. Now that you are here with me, I have a partner with whom I can fight together again. I was waiting so long for someone else that can unburden me, actually and on that fateful day, where we met, I knew I had finally found that someone again. We both lost people that were, no still are, close to our hearts and like me, you would have had to look for someone else that you can partner up with. It was destiny that we met!" The young man explained with enthusiasm.

"Thank you! I needed this pep talk, I am still insecure about my place in this team. That is why I want to be the best partner you could wish for!" Auron tried to explain why he acted the way he did.

"With that determination, you will be the best partner I could wish for, but not with that attitude towards your place in this team. You are as important to this team as Alexander and me. We are all equals, no one is above anyone here," Richter said in a reassuring tone and petted Auron's back.

"Awww, you guys are so adorable. You look like father and son!" Alexander chimed in, "Hey! Have you run across the glade yet?" Richter asked the little gecko.

"Actually, yes! While you were fighting and then reconciling, I ran around the whole glade with the backpack!" The Treecko happily announced.

"Good Job! Now continue running across the glade until you make it in fifteen seconds with the backpack," Alexander's mentor said, "but first you can take a little break and eat something."

"Yay! Food!" The little Treecko shouted and ran toward the lunch boxes.

"Don't eat too much though, or you won't be able to train more!" Richter added to his previous statement.

Richter turned back to Auron and said, "I see you have learned to use Swords Dance pretty well already. Now to the next move, Quick Guard!" Richter then moved a couple of steps away from Auron and turned back around to face him, "Quick Guard helps you defend yourself from opponents that are faster than you, because they use a move that makes them faster, for example: Extreme Speed, Quick Attack, Sucker Punch and others. Now the secret behind Quick Guard is to predict where your opponent is going to strike and guard that area, pretty simple, huh?"

"But Quick Guard is not a failsafe move! You might be able to guard one or two moves, but your enemy will probably learn and make it's attacks less predictable and then your Quick Guard will not work," Richter explained, "The great thing is that, if you guard such an attack, you catch your opponent off guard and then start your own barrage of attacks. Preferably you would want to end the fight right after that, so you don't give your opponent another chance to attack."

"OK, I understand, but how do I predict such an attack? I mean you used Extreme Speed yourself and I had no idea you were going to do it." The Lucario asked.

"Well, most of it comes from experience, but another part of it is instinct. Especially when you go against very experienced opponents yourself, sometimes your experience will not help and the only thing you have left are your instincts," Richter tried to explain the mechanics of the Quick Guard move.

"I see, how are going to train this now though?" the young student questioned his mentor, "That is pretty easy actually, I will use Quick attack to attack you and you will try to use Quick Guard to protect yourself. Don't worry I will go easy on you with my strength, don't want to hurt you," his mentor answered.

After explaining the in's and out's of Quick Guard to Auron, Richter proceeded to constantly attack him with Quick Attacks, so that Auron got experience in guarding such priority attacks. Meanwhile Alexander finished up eating a couple of sandwiches that Richter had brought with him and started to run around the glade again, but this time he put some extra weights back into the backpack.

A couple hours passed and Auron was able to successfully guard every Quick Attack Richter threw at him, and Alexander was now able to fully sprint around the glade carrying the backpack

"Great work everyone! Let's take a break and enjoy some lunch together!" Richter announced.

"YAY!" was said in unison and all three teammates went over to where Alexander left the lunchboxes.

"I am really proud of your progress guys! And all this in one day's work! You guys wanna continue after lunch?" Richter asked them and then proceeded to take bite out of his sandwich.

"You said you would teach me Aura Sphere today!" Auron reminded Richter, "Oh right! Almost forgot," the young man answered.

"What about me? I can now run around the glade in 15 seconds WITH the backpack!" Alexander proudly announced to his teammates.

"Fantastic! Now you can train your stamina by running around the glade until you can't move anymore, then you should be done with training for today," the mentor concluded.

Our three comrades continued to eat their lunch happily together and then rested for a bit to digest. After about half an hour of talking about past events, including Richter's time at the temple, they got up and continued with their training session. Alexander started running around again to improve his stamina, while Richter and Auron sat cross legged and opposite to each other again, just like when they practiced Swords Dance.

"OK, Auron, Aura is something beautiful; a great and useful ability. It can be used for various things like, detecting someone that might be hidden, of course using it in battle in the form of Aura Sphere for example, or even healing. Aura is something every living creature has but some have more than others. Humans and the Riolu line are natural Aura users and can use Aura abilities to their fullest when trained properly," Richter informed Auron, "The first step is to find your inner Aura. Once you have located it in you, we can try to manifest it in different ways, including Aura Sphere."

"That sounds fascinating. My dad already told me how everything has its own Aura, but not everyone can use it properly. We also actually once sat down and tried to manifest my Aura but were unsuccessful. He said that once I would evolve into a Lucario, he would sit down with me and try again…" Auron's voice grew heavy when he mentioned his father and how he spent time with him.

"I may not be your real father, but I will do my best to raise you like you are my own son. However, let's not dwell in the past for it does not serve a purpose," Auron's partner explained, "I presume that with your father's help you already located your Aura since you said you already tried manifesting it."

"Yes, I can always feel how energy is flowing through me, I can just never focus it," the student informed his teacher

"Well, focusing the Aura flow of oneself is the hardest part, indeed, but I am sure we will be able to do it together!" the mentor encouraged his student, "You just have to focus all your mind, body, soul, and Aura into that one place you want it focused on. In the case of Aura Sphere, it would be your paws."

Our team continued to train till evening, Richter teaching Auron to use Aura properly and Alexander working on his stamina. Alexander was very tired after running around the glade for 3 hours, with occasional breaks in between and Auron was finally able to focus enough Aura into his paws to form a small Aura Sphere, but he still has some trouble keeping it up. He is not ready to use it in combat yet.

"Well, Auron, it is getting pretty late and Alexander is already out cold, we should use the time we have left to move over to Oldale Town and rest in the Pokemon Center there," Richter proposed to his partner.

"Yes, I agree. We have done a lot already and we all deserve our fair share of rest for today, let's go," Auron agreed on what Richter proposed.

Richter packed everything back into his backpack, put his coat back on, and held his katana in his left hand. His Lucario picked up Alexander and they slowly but surely walked down Route 101 without any interferences. After the short walk, they arrived in Oldale Town, at around 10 P.M., and proceeded to enter the Pokemon Center. At the desk was, yet again, nurse Joy, who greeted our trio with a warm smile.

"Good evening, Sir! How may I help you today?" She asked politely.

"Well, we need a room for 3 to stay for the night," Richter stated simply, "I am kinda surprised you don't recognize me. I was here yesterday after all."

"Oh, that might be because I did not work here yesterday, that must have been one of my sisters," she explained while typing on her keyboard.

"That makes sense I suppose. On a side note, how many sisters are you if I may ask?" the coated man asked the nurse.

"We are 13 sisters," Joy simply stated.

Richter's mouth dropped open by that answer, but he composed himself quickly so nurse Joy would not see his reaction, "That is nice, I would love to have such a big family too one day." He simply answered.

"It gets a little chaotic at times, but I also enjoy having that many family members I can rely on," she concluded, "May I have your Trainer Card, please?"

"Yeah, sure," Richter said and pulled out his Trainer Card from one of his coat's pockets and handed it over to nurse Joy, "Thank you! One second, please."

Richter and Auron waited patiently, after about five minutes, nurse Joy handed Richter back his Trainer Card as well as giving him a key for his room, "Room 405. Take the elevator to the fourth floor and it is the last room down the hallway on the right. Have a nice evening!"

Richter thanked her and then walked over to the elevator together with Auron and Alexander. He pressed the button for the fourth floor and when it reached it's destination, they got out and walked down the hallway to their room. The room had 3 separate beds, a TV and a small couch in the corner of the room.

"Well, everyone has his own bed. Put Alexander in one of them and then you can head to bed too. I sure need some rest too, since it has been a while since I had this much activity," Richter said, while putting his katana and backpack next to the couch, and started to undress himself to get ready for bed.

Auron just put Alexander in one of the beds and went to bed himself. Richter also entered his bed, next to Auron's, and just stared at the ceiling for a while. Auron noticed that and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Huh? Oh nothing really. Just thinking of what we are gonna do tomorrow. I have never been a pokemon trainer, so I am still figuring out how all of this is going to go on from now," Richter answered his partner.

"I am sure we will be able to figure it out together. That's what friends are for afterall, helping each other in times of peril and need," the lucario said.

"Those are some very wise words!" Richter exclaimed quietly to not wake Alexander up.

"My dad taught me that. If you ever have a friend in need, it is your duty to help him!" Auron concluded.

"True...Very, very true...I wish I would have been to help Auron back at the temple though. I failed him as a friend," Richter said, tearing up after mentioning his old friend and partner.

"You don't have to be sad, Richter. You did everything you could! I am sure Auron did not regret anything," the fighting type pokemon reassured his friend.

"Yeah, I suppose you are right. Well, whatever, no need to get sentimental now. Good night and sweet dreams," Richter wished upon his partner.

"You too!" Auron simply said and turned around on his right side and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. Richter turned to his left side, away from Auron, and also closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"Yeah, we are friends and we are going to help each other in bad times. And this time, I am not going to fail. Never again!" Richter mumbled to himself then fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7: Showdown between Rivals

**Hello everyone!**

 **As you might have noticed my uploads became less frequent, that is because my Laptop broke and I don't have any other way of reliably uploading my chapters. So i beg you to be a bit more patient than usual.**

 **Other than that, I hope you have a fantastic day \^-^/**

* * *

Another morning starts in Hoenn. The sun rises slowly over the horizon, its rays beaming down onto the land. Richter was still asleep, at least until the sun shined through the window in the room and hit his eyes. The sudden change of light in his eyes made him wake up, slowly opening his eyes. He looks to his right, to look at the time on the alarm clock next to him. It was 6:21 A.M., Richter stretched out his arms and let out a final yawn. He then moved to the side of his bed and sat upright at the edge of it, Richter then looked at his partners, sleeping in their beds, and smiled at the sight of them sleeping peacefully. Our protagonist stood up and stretched out his legs now, weird "clicking" sounds could be heard while doing so. "Oh lord, am I getting old already…" Richter said and then proceeded to head into the bathroom, getting ready to take a shower, he undressed himself completely and entered the shower. After 20 minutes, he exited the shower and searched for another pair of boxers in his backpack, all while being as silent as possible to not wake anyone up. After finding what he was looking for, he then went on and dressed himself again.

"Time for my dear partners to wake up. Hmmm how should I do this," Richter asked while stroking his chin, "Aha! I know!" He announced.

Richter cleared his throat, inhaled deeply and then...exhaled again. He walked next to Auron and started shaking him slightly, "Shhhh, Auron, it is time to wake up," the young man said close to Aurons ear.

"Huh? 5 more minutes please...zzz…" the Lucario mumbled, rolled himself into his bedsheet and drifted off to sleep again, "Ugh, I wanted to make this nice and easy on you, but seems like it has to be the hard way" Richter said with his hands on his hips, while shaking his head.

Auron's partner grabbed the bed sheet and pulled it away with full force, this caused Auron to fly of the bed onto the hard ground of the room, "Hey! I was still sleeping!" He said with a grumpy and tired voice.

"That may be, but the early pidgey gets the weedle! So you gotta start the day early to enjoy it to the fullest!" The shiny Lucario's mentor said with a bright smile on his face, "OK, OK, I am awake now," he said, standing up and brushing his fur off of any dust.

"Great, now go take a shower, while I wake up Alexander," Richter told Auron, while pointing towards the bathroom, "A shower? What is a shower?" Auron retorted with a confused look on his face.  
"You don't know what a shower is?" Richter asked back but then said, "It means that you go and wash yourself. There is an apparition in the room that lets water fall down on you, you can use that to wash yourself."

"Ooooh, I understand now, me and my dad usually washed ourselves when we found a pond or a river," Auron explained, "But I guess I will try out this "shower" you humans use"

Richter went over to the bathroom together with Auron and showed him how the shower works, "You use these knobs to regulate the temperature of the water, the water comes out of the shower head over there and when you think you are done, make sure you turn of the water. You can use one of the towels there, to dry your fur off."

"OK, got it!" Auron said and went into the shower. Richter then exists the bathroom and looks over to Alexander, seeing him still sleeping even after all the ruckus just now, surprised Richter. He didn't think much of it and proceeded to shake him up a little too, "Hey! Alexander, hey buddy! It's time to wake up!"

"Alright, I am awake," he simply stated. Alexander sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Are we going to go train now again?"

"Woah there buddy, I like your enthusiasm, but not even I like training before breakfast. Auron is taking a shower right now, when he is finished you can go take yours. Then we will head down to have some breakfast. After that we will head to Route 102 and train a little more there, before we enter Petalburg City and probably rest there for the rest of the day,"

"Sounds like a solid plan! I am excited to travel with you!" Alexander said and jumped off his bed and started punching the air, "Are you gonna teach me some moves today then?

"I can teach you some basic moves, but I am not really acknowledged in Grass-Type moves. I can teach you Double Kick and possibly Energy Ball, that might be a little difficult though," Richter informed his little companion, "but other than that I want to improve both of you guys's physical power, straight up strength training.

Just when Richter finished his little speech to Alexander, Auron seemed to have finished showering and exited the bathroom.

"Thank Arceus, that was amazing! Showering is way better than just washing yourself in a pond," Auron said with a big smile on his face, "So what are we going to do today?"

Richter turned to Auron and simply answered, "I will tell you everything once we start with breakfast, short version is, we're gonna train and rest in Petalburg City afterwards."

While the two were talking, Alexander went over to the bathroom to take a shower too. Richter and Auron sat down at the edge of Alexander's bed, waiting for the grass pokemon to come back again.

"Hey, Richter," Auron suddenly spoke up,

"Yes?" Richter answered.

"You think I will be able to live up to the heritage of Auron, your friend?" Auron asked firmly, while looking into Richter's eyes.

"Look, I don't expect you to live up to anyone really. It is not because I don't believe you can't live up to him, but rather that you don't need to. The only thing I want from you, is to not leave my side. I don't want to lose another friend, ever again," Richter concluded his answer to Auron.

"It's not that, I want to live up to his heritage, I want to overcome it even. I want to give you, what he was not able to do. I want to give you what he wanted to give you, a partner for a journey. You gave me what I would not have now, my life. I am obliged to help you and I will not leave your side, no matter what!" Auron said with a very strong and determined voice.

"Thank you, Auron. I really appreciate those words, they truly mean a lot to me!" Richter said, his eyes tearing up again. He was able to hold back the tears and went into a hug with Auron, "I will also never ever leave your side!"

Just as the two separated, the bathroom door opened and out came Alexander, with a towel around his waist, "You put a towel around your waist? That seems a bit odd, if you ask me," Richter just asked, curious about this gesture.

"Uhh, I always kinda did this, I don't know myself why I do this. Just feels right to me;" the grass starter explained, "Huh, sure go ahead, I don't have a problem with it. Was just curious," Richter concluded.

"Well, since everyone is ready now, let's go ahead and enjoy breakfast together!" the young man announced with a happy voice while heading towards the door. His partner pokemon followed him closely as they exited the room and headed down the hallway towards the elevator again, after closing the door to the room behind them.

Once in the elevator and choosing its destination, the cafeteria, Alexander asked, "You think they have Berry Sandwiches like you made? Those were really delicious!"

"Well, whatever they have we gonna be thankful for it and eat it. We do not have the luxury of being too picky, this service is free of charge for us now that I am an official trainer, but that doesn't mean we can abuse this. Please be humble and modest about all this. Gluttony is a very disgraceful thing, always remember that, " Richter explained to his gecko-like friend.

"Every Time you speak, you sound so wise and cool!" Alexander said in a cheery voice.

"Well, thank you, Alexander, you are quite the smart fellow yourself!" Richter replied to the compliment, "That's the first time I've heard a compliment from anyone. Thank you, you are the best trainer I ever had...Well you are the first one I have sooooo…" The starter pokemon said, in a surprisingly happy voice.

"Oh, I am sorry that you never heard a compliment before...That is kinda sad actually. I hope you enjoy this group here," his trainer spoke.

"Absolutely! I can't be happier right now! Now let's not waste any more time and get some breakfast!" Alexander said before speeding off down the hallway leading to the cafeteria. Seconds after he sped through the door, into the cafeteria, multiple loud "Crack" noises could be heard, "Oh no, please don't let that be Alexander's fault," Richter said before running down the hallway too, to investigate what has caused that noise with Auron running right beside him.

Just as Richter opened the door, he was greeted by a complete mess. Broken plates, destroyed cups, food everywhere, a bowl of soup on top of Alexander's head and a bowl of Ramen on top of someone else. Richter proceeded to facepalm himself, before removing the bowl on top of Alexander, "Alexander! What have you done?" Richter asked with a loud and strict voice.

"I….I… I am sorry!" He said, before he started to cry, "Oh no, I didn't want you to cry!" his trainer said and picked him up to give him a proper hug, "I am sorry too, I didn't want to shout at you like that," Richter apologized to his little friend.

"Richter, is that you?" A familiar voice said from behind him. Our protagonist turned around, still having Alexander in his arms like a father holding his child, and saw who was talking to him. It was Reese!

Reese positioned herself next to the guy with the bowl of ramen on his head and removed it, revealing yet another familiar face. Jake, the guy he met last time he stayed in Oldale Town. Jake turned toward Reese, looking her straight in the eyes and asked, "You know that guy too?"

"Yeah, I met him right after he came to Hoenn, he was looking for the Pokemart in Slateport City and asked me where it was. Then he introduced himself to me and after a little talk he had to leave. A better question would be where you know him from?" Reese answered Jake's question.

"No. Actually a better question would be where you two know each other from," Richter chimed in to resolve some of his questions.

"Oh, Jake is my big brother;" Reese simply stated.

"Yeah, that makes Reese my little sister," Jake added, "And I met Richter, here in Oldale Town, just yesterday if I remember correctly. We met in the hallway, he looked confused on where the medical bay is in here, so I helped him out."

"Yeah, thanks for that again. And sorry about the whole ramen-on-top-of-your-head thing, Alexander is always a little too excited about food. I'll pay for the cleaning and the food," Richter insisted.

"Don't worry about this, just a quick little wash and a shower and all is good, your little friend there didn't do it on purpose. So that Treecko there is your starter Pokemon? You just started you adventure then?" Jake asked, curious about the situation before him.

"Well, yes and no. Alexander isn't really my starter, you see, this Lucario here beside me is, he was the one in the medical bay yesterday. He had some serious injuries. This little fella here, I picked up at Professor Birch's Lab when I applied for my Trainer Card and ID. He was the only one left after two other kids took the torchic and mudkip starters. I couldn't bear to leave him there alone, so I took him with me," Richter explained his situation, "But yes, I did just start my journey, I am slowly making my way to Rustboro City for my first Gym Badge."

"I see. You know what? Would you mind having a friendly battle you and me? Basically as a little friendly revenge for the mess," Jake asked with a smile.

"Uhh, sure. I don't see why not, but can we do it after breakfast, I am also getting a little hungry now," Richter agreed to the challenge.

"Of course!" Jake concluded the conversation.

Everyone proceeded to take a tray and get some food from the open breakfast buffet that was readied for the trainers and pokemon alike. Richter, Auron and Alexander all sat next to each other and enjoyed themselves on some more Berry Sandwiches of different kinds. Jake and Reese decided to sit next to Richter and his companions to enjoy their breakfast too. They had a little chat with each other about hobbies and other things, though Richter was the odd one out since he didn't really wanted to talk about his past, not right now at least as it would come out as weird.

After everyone was finished with their breakfast, Jake turned with a smile towards Richter and said, "It is time!"

"I agree, Let's settle this like real trainers!" Richter said with a nod and headed out the Pokemon Center, his partners following him. They stop at a wide open space in front of the Pokemon Center, Jake sends out his Glaceon for the fight.

"I am gonna choose you, Auron! Let's put that training of yours to work!" Richter announced. Auron gave Richter a nod and entered his Battle Stance, "I got this, especially with my Type advantage," he said, "Hey, don't be so cocky. He fought more people than us probably, so do exactly as I say and everything should be fine," his Trainer said.

"I will act as a referee for this battle. On the count of three, the battle will commence! One!...Two!...THREE!" Reese said out loud, so that both parties know when to start getting serious.

"OK Auron, start with Swords Dance like we trained yesterday!" Richter ordered his partner, "I think not! Arctica use Ice Shard to interrupt him!" Jake told his Glaceon. While Auron was entering Swords Dance status, a giant Ice Shard was heading for his head.

"Auron! Quick Guard!" Richter shouted at his Lucario. Auron quickly and surely grabbed the Ice Shard mid-air and smashed it on the ground, he then finished his Swords Dance. "Now go in with Quick Attack!" Auron followed his trainer's instructions and ran at the Glaceon with incredible speed and kicked it with his foot, sending the small little Pokemon flying a bit. The Eeveelution recovered mid-air and landed back on its feet. "Now retort with Ice Fang!" Jake announced his plan of attack. "Welcome it with a Force Palm!" Richter tried to counter his opponent's move. Auron concentrated a bit, his right paw glowing a little bit. His opponent was running towards him with high speed and cold air coming from it's mouth, "Get ready to attack, Auron! On my command!" Auron's mentor said. Auron got ready, watching his breathing to not break Swords Dance status and not letting his opponent out of sight. Arctica, rather quickly, closed the distance between itself and Auron. At about 7 feet distance, the Glaceon jumped at Auron, opening it's mouth, revealing it's sharp teeth. "NOW! Attack!" Right after hearing what Richter said, Auron sent his paw flying towards the Glaceon's face. His paw collided with Arctica's face, everything went in slow motion for Arctica, if looked closer, you could see its face deforming from the fist hitting it so hard. Auron then proceeded to release the wave of Aura into it his enemy. Arctica was sent flying yet again, but this time it didn't recover. It flew about 25 feet away and was scraping the street while doing so. Once it finally stopped flying and actually stopped, it didn't stand up again.

"Arctica is not able to fight anymore! The Winner is Auron and his trainer Richter!" Reese announced Richter to be the winner.

"Yes! I did it!" Auron shouted, his paws up in the air and the biggest smile Richter has ever seen on him.

Jake threw his pokeball at his Glaceon to recapture it and said, "that was a great battle, your Lucario packs quite a punch. I guess we couldn't overcome the type advantage you had against us."

"I agree, it was a really good battle. Your Glaceon really wanted that win and gave it it's all," Richter said and reached his hand out towards Jake as a sign of friendly rivalry, "How about I become your Rival? We can always have a friendly fight when we meet each other again."

"That sounds like a plan to me!" Jake retorted and accepted Richter's hand as a sign of his acceptance.

This shall be the day that marks a great friendship and rivalry among two very powerful individuals.


	8. Chapter 8: The Family Grows

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you to anyone that has read any of my chapters really, it really means a lot to me and I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. So please leave a favorite or review so I can get some feedback on my writing!

Other than that, I hope you will enjoy this next chapter!

* * *

"Nice to meet you again, Jake! I gotta go now though, I want to reach Petalburg City today, so that I can get to Rustboro City tomorrow. I wanna get that first Gym Badge finally and I am sure with Auron and Alexander I will be able to do that," Richter said his goodbyes to Jake and Reese, "I hope to meet you two again soon!"

"I hope so too! I want to have my revenge battle soon, but next time, you won't win so easily," Jake gave his consent on Richter's hope to meet soon.

With another handshake and a formal goodbye the two parties separate and head their own ways. Richter was on his way to Route 102, heading towards Petalburg City as his next imminent Destination. While walking down the route they were greeted by several Pokemon, Zigzagoons, Linoones and one rather peculiar Ralts.

"Uhh, sorry Sir but do you happen to have something to eat for me? I haven't eaten in a while and all those Zigzagoons and Linoones have eaten the berries around here already," the little white and green Pokemon said, "I would really appreciate that!"

"Using Telepathy to talk to humans? That is quite an advanced skill for a baby level Pokemon like you, where did you pick that skill up from?" Richter crouched down to be somewhat of an eye level with the Ralts.

"This situation I am in right now, happens quite often. I am not the fastest or most agile Pokemon out here, so I am often the last one to get any food. So I needed to find another source of food."

"So you trained yourself in Telepathy until you were able to communicate with humans," Richter concluded the Ralts' explanation.

"Exactly," the little guy answered.

"Well, how about I make you a deal? You join my team and you will never hunger again," our protagonist proposed his idea to the Ralts.

"Hmm, that does sound very appealing, since no one else ever proposed that to me. Most people either ignore me or leave me some berries and go on their journey," the psychic type Pokemon thought for a good minute, his head low and arms crossed, "If you are so kind to offer me that, I think I will take you up on it. I don't like to beg other people for food, I'd rather do what you say and be guaranteed that I won't starve," he answered.

"Great, nice to meet you, Xavier!" Richter said with a welcoming smile.

"Xavier? That is my new name I suppose. It sounds fitting, you may continue calling me that," Xavier responded.

"Nice to have you on board Xavier!" Alexander chimed in and stretched out his hand as a welcoming gesture, "Nice to meet you too, uhh, I didn't catch your name," Xavier said with a confused look on his face.

"Let me do the introductions, my name is Auron! This little fella is Alexander and this is now your new trainer, Richter," Auron finished introducing everyone to Xavier.

"Nice to make everyone's acquaintance!" Xavier said while shaking Alexander's hand.

"Why are you all alone here though? Where are your parents or friends?" Alexander asked curiously, "My parents died quite a while ago and since I am alone, no one wants to be my friend here. I lived like this for quite a while now, you get used to the loneliness once you accept it," Xavier explained his parent's absence.

"Oh, dude. I am sorry I asked, didn't want you to go through those memories again," the grass starter apologized to the Ralts.

"You don't need to be sorry, I am fine. Life and death are a circle, it happens and will continue happening. We just need to cope with it, though you may say that it is unfortunate for a youngling like me to experience it so early," the newest addition to the team explained.

"My oh my, you are quite acknowledged with life and its mysteries," Richter simply mentioned, "That is quite uncommon among baby Pokemon, but whatever, I am kind of in a hurry. I want to reach Petalburg City later tonight."

"Sure, just throw your Pokeball at me, I'll stay in it as long as I need to," the baby Pokemon responded, "Uhh, about that. I don't like my partners to be in those, that's why Auron and Alexander are free to roam. I think those are limiting them, so I don't use them," Richter explained upon that matter.

"That is quite a unique view you have there, I only saw one other person acting like you, not using Pokeballs. He was here around yesterday, I believe," Xavier informed our protagonist.

"That is quite interesting, I never met anyone yet that thinks the same way," Richter responded to Xavier, "Well, no matter now. Time to go find a training spot. I need to train you guys in physical strength. You guys have speed and moves but lack straight up strength, we're gonna change that today, boys!" Richter announced with a cheerful voice.

Our hooded main character and his companions walked down the route further down, until Xavier pointed out a little glade, similar to the last one they trained in but smaller, "That looks like a good place to train, don't you agree?"

Auron, Alexander and Richter all turned into the direction Xavier was pointing to see what he was talking about and look at that. A small little glade was to be seen, a little deeper in the woods, "That does look like a good place to train, you are right Xavier. Good job, buddy!" Richter said and gave his new little friend a little pat on his head as a token of appreciation. The quartet was now walking towards the appointed training area and gathered around Richter.

"Well, you're probably asking yourself 'How are we gonna do strength training?' and there is a simple answer to that. The same way I did it! By punching hard objects," Richter said while pointing at a nearby tree, "And pulling heavy things," he continued.

"What? Are you serious?" Auron asked, taken aback by Richter's proposal, "You expect us to go ahead and punch trees until what? We break them?!"

After Auron finished complaining, Richter walked over to a tree, cocked his arm back all the way and punched at the tree with full force. A shockwave erupted from where he hit the tree and dust got whirled up into the air, making vision really bad. Once everything cleared out, no tree could be found. Where once a full grown tree stood, now only its stump was left in sight.

"Wha...Wha...What just happened?" Alexander asked with a shocked expression on his face, "The tree. The tree is just gone!"

"This is what I meant with punching hard objects. What I just demonstrated was Mega Punch, a punch that can tear through almost anything. Xavier, you won't know this, but I got raised in a secret temple in Sinnoh, which was led by Clan of Alakazams and Lucarios. That is where I picked up my strength and what not. About 20 years of training brought me to this status, now I don't expect you to reach this level of power today or anytime soon, but it would be appreciated if you guys gave it your all. It won't be easy, but it will be really rewarding. This isn't even the highest form of power," Richter finished his explanation.

"That was incredible!" Auron said, still shocked from what just happened before him, "Show me! I want to be able to do that one day too!"

"That was quite impressive, indeed. I am not really someone that appreciates physical power, but rather the power of mind and knowledge," Xavier stated plainly, showing no signs of being shocked.

"Good to know you are pumped to get stronger Auron. Xavier, I see what you mean, but you will participate in this too, at least to a certain degree. Alexander don't worry the tree is fine, it is just somewhere else," Richter finished his sentence with a light chuckle, "OK now. Auron, you go and punch that rock over there until it breaks, Alexander you take on that smaller rock next to it and Xavier, you gonna try to break the twigs around here. Don't take it too far though guys! We have time and I don't expect you to actually accomplish the tasks I gave you," the young mentor finished explaining the assignment.

"Got it!" Auron and Alexander said in unison before running off to the rocks Richter pointed out before.

"If you want me to, sure I'll do it" Xavier said with a shrug and proceeded to head for the several twigs lying around the little glade.

Auron and Alexander tried destroying their rocks, with no avail yet, but their spirit didn't break. They were as enthusiastic as ever to prove to their trainer that they are capable fighters. Meanwhile, Xavier was struggling with the twigs, but also wasn't deterred when not succeeding, he happily continued. After about half an hour, Richter called everyone for a lunch break. He was just sitting nearby, watching over his partners' progress and giving tips here and there to reduce the pain that comes from punching rocks for an extended period of time.

"Here you go guys, fresh berry sandwiches and some fresh natural spring water I collected back in Sinnoh. It may be about a year old, but still tastes like day one. Also, here are some Potions I bought some time ago, let me use them on you. It will reduce the pain, but we will take a break now, no matter what," just after Richter said that, he pulled out said Potions and applied them on all three of his comrades. They all instantly sighed in relief as the pain vanished quickly.

"Thank you, that really felt good. I actually think I am close to breaking that rock, I can feel the energy pumping in me!" the Lucario pronounced loudly and held a fist up in the air, "Yeah, me too!" Alexander chimed in doing the same pose like his comrade.

Richter began to laugh at that sight, "Haha, you are like twins! Same enthusiasm, same everything almost," he said with a smile.

"Well...Not gonna lie, I see Auron as kind of a big brother, someone I look up to. I want to be as strong and cool as him someday," Alexander said while obviously blushing.

"I am flattered that you think like that, Alexander. I hope I can be a good role model, but even I am still learning," Auron replied with a confident smile.

"I am happy that you guys understand each other so well," Richter said with a big smile, "Don't feel excluded though, Xavier. You are also part of this big family right here!"

"Thanks for saying that, I will try to socialize as much as possible. It might be a little difficult for me though, since I didn't do that that much," the Ralts answered.

"I am sure you will fit right in with us, don't worry about it too much," Alexander assured Xavier and gave him a little pat on his back. Xavier blushed a bit when Alexander did that, he appreciated the token of friendship.

They continued to eat and talk about past events, so that everyone was on the same page. Richter about his past, Auron about his parents, Alexander about his time with Professor Birch and finally Xavier about his time alone in the woods, desperately trying to find food to survive.

"Man, we all have a very sad past, to be honest, but they also all have their similarities. That's what makes our bond so strong though," Auron noticed.

"Yeah, I agree on that completely," Richter concurred.

"Well, enough talk! Time to train a bit more before we set off to Petalburg City!" the teacher announced.

"Yeah!" both Auron and Alexander said in unison. They both laughed after that and headed off to their respective rock.

"Back to the twigs, I guess," Xavier said before going to another twig. He already managed to snap some small ones and he is slowly working up his way towards the bigger ones.

After couple of hours, with breaks in between, something rather miraculous happened.

"AHHHH!" Auron screamed out loudly.

"AHHHH!" Alexander did the same. Shortly after, both hit the rock with their maximum power and just like that, both rocks split open through the middle.

"Hurray! We did it!" The fighting type and the grass type pokemon said in unison again. They then proceeded to high five each other. It was funny seeing Alexander trying to jump high enough to give Auron a proper high five and after a couple of jumps, he actually did it. You can really see their compassion in their eyes.

"Well, well, well. I really did not expect this to happen. It seems like I really underestimated you two. Come here and give me a high five too!" Richter exclaimed. He then stood up and walked over to his two companions and put out both of his hands for each of them. Auron easily hit it and just as they thought that Alexander was gonna have trouble again, he jumped so high that he not only gave Richter a high five, but also did a double somersault in the air and landed back on his feet.

Right when he landed, he got engulfed in a bright light that lasted for several seconds. After the light vanished, before them stood… A Grovyle!

Alexander had evolved after his hard training with Richter and Auron.

"Great! Now I am even stronger!" Announced the newly evolved Grovyle.

"Today marks another great day for our team! Together we will conquer everything in our path!" Richter said triumphantly!


	9. Chapter 9: A Bond Strengthens

"Yes! I already feel way stronger and faster!" Alexander exclaimed in his new form, "How can I put this to test, Richter? I want to test myself!"

"Well, since you guys actually succeeded in your training and we still have a couple hours left. I know what we can do! Speed!" Richter proposed, "Again? Aww, I hoped we can train some moves!" Alexander said, a little disappointed about his mentor's idea.

"We have time, don't worry about that. I will show you some moves later today;" Richter reassured his partner Pokemon, "For now, you two go have a race around the glade for about an hour. You can have another little break before you two go at it."

"I am ready than ever! We can go rigth at it if you want, Auron!" Alexander told Auron, clearly excited about the race, "Sure, just let me have a little drink. I am kinda dehydrated," Auron responded with a smile.

Alexander gave his comrade a little nod and went over to where the rocks were that they destroyed. That place shall be the start line for the race, Alexander is already warming himself up via stretching and running in place.

Richter also walked over to where his Grovyle was and both patiently waited for Auron to come over too. After a good sip from the water bottle with the fresh spring water, Auron felt ready to take on this challenge. He too, finally moved towards the make shift start line and began stretching too. Xavier decided to go over to Richter and decided to watch this spectacle. After about five more minutes of stretching, both Auron and Alexander positioned themselves next to each other and were ready to go any second now.

"Ok you two, the first one to run around this little glade here 100 times, wins the race. You have one hour time and can takes break whenever you see fit. I will teach a special move to whoever wins," Richter explained the rules.

"Got it!" Both said in unision again.

"OK! Get Ready!..." The Lucario and the Grovyle got in position, "Set!..." they were already shaking from excitement, "GOOO!" Richter exclaimed loudly and waved his hand down to signal the start of the race.

The two friends sprinted away as fast as they could. The first ten rounds, they were running head to head, but shortly after, Alexander started to gain more speed and actually pass Auron. The furry friend of Alexander was surprised how fast the Grass Pokemon was gaining speed. The distance between the two increased with every passing second, Auron lagging behind more and more.

"Seems like Alexander is gonna win this," Xavier said towards Richter, "Hmm, it looks like it, but it doesn't surprise me really. Before you joined, I trained his speed and even back then he was getting really fast. Now that he evolved and is super eager to win, not only to prove me how much he has grown but he also wants to impress Auron. Just like a little brother would like to impress his older one," Richter simply explained.

"I guess, you promising to teach the winner a special move also helps gives him motivation to win," Xavier responded, "I guess you are right," Richter agreed with a smirk on his face.

15 minutes passed and we have now entered the 32nd round and both of them don't seem to slow down yet, the distance between Alexander and Auron stopped increasing, it seems like Auron increased his own speed by now. Surprisingly, both don't show any sign of exhaustion either, at least for now. It looks like they are too focused on the race.

"Alexander!" Auron cried out, "I didn't know you had this much speed in you, I am really proud of your progress!"

Alexander was overjoyed from this statement, his idol being proud of him only energized him more than before. Now he really wanted to show off what he was capable of doing. His face became more fierce, his movement more precise and his speed increased drastically. Now he was really speeding off, the distance between the two runners increased yet again, even more than before.

Just a couple minutes later, Alexander was lapping Auron. While Fighting-Type Pokemon was slowly struggling to keep up his speed, the Grass-Type was just not stopping or slowing down in the slightest. After another 20 minutes passed, Alexander was now running his 74th round, while Auron was only at his 68th. Yet another 20 minutes passed and Alexander was on his last two rounds while Auron just ran his 80th round, both ran without a single break, both ran with absolute determination, but them something unfortunate happened. Just as Alexander crossed the finish line for his 99th round and only one more was left to run, he tripped. With the speed he was running at, he tumbled quite the distance and slammed against a nearby tree, "AHH!", He screamed when hitting it.

"Alex!" Auron exclaimed shocked, he instantly ran over to his friend and looked at the damage done, "What happened?"

"Ughh, I tripped on something and fell. AHH! I think i broke my ankle..." He managed to say while in pain, "Can you help me up?"

"Of course! Here hold on to me!" Auron said in a soothing voice while helping up Alexander, "Hey! Richter! I think Alex broke his ankle," the Lucario cried out for his mentors help

"The race isn't over yet and until it is, I won't intervene with anything!" He plainly stated with stern look on his face.

"I see...How it is..." Alexander said whie panting in between, the exhaustion finally hitting him, "Hehe...He wants us to finish the race...together...Can you help me accomplish...that...Auron? Please?"

Auron was a little shocked but quickly composed himself and managed to form a smile on his face, "Of course, bro! Anything for you!" He answered with a big smile and a happy voice. Together they walked down the glade, Auron carefully supporting his friend so he experiences the least amount of pain as possible. Slowly but surely they travelled around the glade, one last time to complete Alexander's final round.

"Congratulations, Alexander! You were the first to complete the race;" Richter proclaimed happily while slowly approaching the two. He closed in on the two and gave each of them a quick congratulation hug.

"We...We did it!...Together!" Alexander said before collapsing in front of everyone, "Yeah, we did..." Auron managed to say before collapsing on top of his friend.

"My, oh my. Seems like the adrenaline finally faded and the exhaustion kicked in. Come on Xavier, it is getting late, we should head to Petalburg City now," the leader of the group said to his Ralts, "How do you imagine getting there now, with these two knocked out flat?" the psychic Pokemon asked.

"We gonna carry them of course. You take Auron and I take Alexander," Richter simply explained, "You are joking, correct?" The little fella asked to make sure, "Of course I was joking!" Richter said and started laughing.

"Don't worry, I am gonna carry all three of you. Just hop on my left shoulder," he said before picking up Auron first and putting him around his right shoulder. He then proceeded to pick up Alexander and carry him in his arms, making sure to properly support the injured foot. Then he crouched down and said, "Hop on, Xavier!"

The little Ralts shrugged and complied with his trainer's wish and jumped on Richter's left shoulder, "I guess you are pretty strong after all and care for all of us here," he said while properly positioning himself.

"Don't tell anybody, but I actually made Alexander trip and fall," the hooded Pokemon Trainer said, "I noticed your presence disappearing and reappearing shortly after, but how did you do that exactly?" The baby Pokemon asked curiously.

"Pretty simple actually. Extreme Speed. I just ran over there, tripped him and ran back to where I was. You may ask why I would do that to my friends..." before Richter could finish his sentence, Xavier chimed in and finished, "You wanted to strengthen their bond with each other. You wanted to let them know they can rely on each other, especially when one of them is out of commision. No one will be left behind, no one will be ignored. Those are respectable virtues you want to teach them."

"Thanks for understanding what I want to achieve here, I rather teach them those virtues and situations in a safe surrounding and without real or severe consequences. The broken ankle was still in the frame of tolerable things that could have happened," The Exiled said and started walking back to the route and heading off towards Petalburg City, the sun was slowly setting giving the sky a soft orange color to it. Since they were heading westwards, they could see the sun setting infront of them. The walk was pretty slow considering that Richter was carrying quite some weight with him, on their way to the Pokemon Center of Petalburg City, to have somewhere to stay over the night, they encountered quite more Pokemon. Since it was slowly turning night time, the nocturnal Pokemon appeared. Zubats, Hoothoots, Noctowls, some Linoones and a family consisting of two Mightyenas, a male and a female, and a pack of 5 Poochyenas behind them.

Just a couple more minutes of walking and the city's lights could be seen in the distance, "Looks like we are close, just a few more minutes of walking, Richter," Xavier spoke to his trainer.

"Yup, Alexander needs some medical attention, so I gotta hurry a bit. Keeping his foot cooled won't be helping much longer," Richter replied, "Cooled? Since when are you cooling his foot?" Xavier asked confused. The Ralts took a quick look over to where Alexander's injured foot is, he then noticed a blue hue emitting from Richter's right hand.

"What are you doing there?" Xavier asked, continuing to be confused, "I am using Ice Punch to keep my hand cooled, with that I can help Alexander a little. Before you ask, since I am an advanced Aura user, I can manipulate my Aura to take different forms. In this case I can make it freezing cold, in other situations, burning hot or even poisonous for example and many, many more. That is how everyone kinda does it. They collect the energy flowing around them or in themselves and manipulate it to achieve what they want," Richter concluded his explanation.

"The world works in mysterious ways. I suppose I am no exception, being able to communicate with humans while still being in my baby form," Xavier added, "True, you are very special indeed. Your vocabulary is quite distinct too, you seem very educated," Richter explained.

"That is probably because of my connection to humans, as I communicate with them, I pick up vocabulary from their minds," Xavier expounded.

After that little chat and more walking they close down to the City, they were now looking for the Pokemon Center It didn't take them too long though, it's characteristically red roof and bright lights helped finding it fast.

Our team entered the building and were greeted by a smiley Nurse Joy, like always, but her smile faded quickly and she hurried towards our team.

"My God! What happened to those?" She asked in shock, "Oh don't worry much. My Grovyle, Alexander, tripped, fell and broke his ankle. My Lucario here, Auron, wanted to help him and tripped too falling on top of Alexander and knocking them both out flat. So nothing really serious, they are just sleeping now. Would be you be so kind and take care of them? Here is my Trainer Card and ID," Richter said before pulling out his Trainer Card and handing it over to the Nurse Joy.

"Of course, Sir. Blissey! We need two stretchers!" Joy exclaimed and out of the back came two Blisseys with a stretcher each. Richter proceeded to lay down Alexander first and then Auron. Once they were gone, our hooded hero faced back towards the Nurse and asked, "Well, we do need a room for tonight to stay in. You don't happen to have one for me and my Ralts here?"

"Sure, one second please, I have to check if we do have a room left. We actually got a rush of people today, requesting to stay here. It was rather unusual actually, never happened before…" just as she was about to finish the sentence, "Oh no! I am sorry but it appears we don't have any more rooms left!"

"Hmm, that is quite unfortunate, but oh well, not much we can change about that. Can you at least take Xavier, my Ralts here, and give him a place to stay? I don't use Pokeballs, so he doesn't really have place to stay," Richter pleaded the Nurse, "I will just sleep outside."

"Sure we can take your Pokemon in here, we have enough room in the Medical Bay, but are you sure you can just sleep outside? It looks like it will rain soon," Joy was concerned about our protagonists whereabouts through the night, "Ah, don't worry about me. I just want my Pokemon to not suffer, that's all," Richter reassured the nurse.

He then handed Xavier over to her and wished him a goodnight before leaving the building again. He decided to camp in front of the Pokemon Center, he deposited his back up on the ground and used it as a makeshift pillow. He lied down and positioned his head on his backpack, his katana close to his chest and not letting it go. He stared into the sky for a bit, seeing the moon and the stars soothed him, mesmerizing him with their beauty. Soon after he fell asleep already and with that another day in Hoenn goes by. A new and strong bond has been established between Auron and Alexander, one that will only grow from now on.


	10. Chapter 10: An unbreakable Bond

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone again! I hope that everyone that rads my story enjoys it! There is something I would like to ask everyone that readys this. Is there anything you guys would want to be included in my story? I am open to literally anything, just send me a PM or write it in a review and I will consider it!

Other than that, I hope you will enjoy this next chapter!

P.S. THe next chapter will be **extremely** brutal and gruesome, so just want to give out a fair warning!

* * *

Another morning starts for the team, the rays of sunlight, hitting Richter directly, but when he awoke something was odd...His team was there with him!

Alexander and Auron were right next to him and hugged him closely, while Xavier was sleeping on top of him. He was feeling their warmth, they made a makeshift blanket for him. Tears came trailing down from Richter's face, he never felt this kind affection and care from anyone before. It just overwhelmed him and he couldn't hold his tears back, they were flowing freely. He managed to free his arms from underneath them and pulled them closer to himself.

"Woah there!" Auron said, "Hey now!" Alexander exclaimed shortly after as they were both drawn closer to their partner. Xavier just went with the situation and hugged Richter where he could.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Richter asked trying to compose himself again.

"Well...When we woke up, we asked where you are so we can come up later," Auron began explaining, "And the nurse at the medical bay told us that no one named Richter was staying here overnight, so we were concerned about you," Alexander continued, "Then I told them what happened, that they didn't have a room left anymore and that you were sleeping outside," Xavier concluded.

"OK, that still doesn't explain why you guys are out here with me. Shouldn't you be resting in the Medical Bay?" Richter asked.

"Once Nurse Joy said that we are fine, we came running for you," Alexander explained further.

"And we were not gonna leave your side, just like we promised, you remember? So we all decided to stay here with you and act as you blanket!" Auron said with a big smile.

"Aww, you three dorks, you didn't have to do that. I slept in worse conditions before, this is nothing compared to what I have been through," Richter responded. "But still...Thank you all for staying by my side, I appreciate it. I really do."

"Hey, who are you calling a dork here, hehe!" Alexander said with a smile too, "Have you seen yourself?"

"Hey now! I am the best looking dork here though," Richter countered with a hearty laugh afterwards, "Well, let's start our daily routine. First things first, a shower…"

Richter just then realised that his daily routine won't work, "Hmmm, I suppose that won't work. I guess we gotta postpone that for now, OK next step! Breakfast!" He announced.

"YES! FOOD!" Alexander loudly proclaimed. He instantly jumped off of Richter and impatiently waited for the rest of the team to get up too, "Come on guys! Breakfast is suppose to be the most important meal of the day, we can't pass that up!"

"You have evolved, yet you didn't change at all Alex," Auron said while standing up. "I hope you never do though, just stay just the way you are."

"Auron is absolutely right about that, but so is Alexander. We should go find something to eat," the team leader said and started standing up. "There should be an establishment somewhere here, where we can have some hearty breakfast!"

"How about we ask the Nurse Joy? They usually know everything about the town they are stationed in," Xavier chimed in to resolve the issue.

"That's a great idea, Xavier!" Auron said and gave him a thumbs up. "I'll go ask real quick!" He said before speeding off inside the Pokemon Center.

"Wait, Auron!" Richter exclaimed just as his Lucario ran off.

"What's wrong Richter?" Auron asked after stopping.

"I think you forgot an important detail…" his mentor said plainly, "You know you can't speak with humans right, except me?"

"Ooohhh, right!" Auron said and gave himself a little facepalm. "Been living with you so long that I forgot about that."

"I'll go do it, you guys just wait here for a second, I'll be right back!" were the last words before Richter walked into the Pokemon Center. After about five minutes, he came back out, but he didn't look very happy.

"Is something wrong?" his shiny companion asked.

"Uhh, kinda. Joy said that there is a restaurant here-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Alexander interrupted him, "Awesome! Where is it?"

"That's what I am trying to tell you guys, it is closed for renovations right now and since I didn't get a room in the Center, I am not eligible for their breakfast either," Richter concluded his explanation.

"Well, that does sound unfortunate, what are our options now?" Xavier asked.

Richter rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. Shortly after, he opened his backpack and took out the map he had in there. After examining it a little, he came to a conclusion.

"There is a beach at Route 104, we can lay down there for a picnic and go for a swim. With that we cover the shower and breakfast part of today, after that we will continue heading towards Rustboro City! There we hopefully will have our first Gym battle, but before that, we gonna do more training, I still owe Alexander that special move training," Richter explained his plan for today, "Any objections?"

"None!" All three of his partners exclaimed in unison.

"OK then. Time to head off!" their teacher said before taking his equipment and walking down the path towards Route 104, his companions following closely.

After a little march, they came past a special looking building with a yellow roof.

"What kind of building is this?" Alexander asked curiously, at further inspection, he made out a sign stating "Petalburg City Gym - Gym Leader: Norman - Normal Type Gym".

"Hey, hey guys, look here! There is a Gym right in front of us!" The Grovyle cheered, "We can just get our first badge here!"

"I am sorry to burst your bubble Alexander, but that is the 5th Gym. We have to go by order or they won't accept the challenge," his trainer explained.

"Awww, I was getting excited to finally fight…" The Grovyle said with disappointment in his voice.

"Don't worry, I am sure you will get your time to shine soon enough, Alex!" Auron reassured his friend.

After that little misunderstanding had been cleared up, our crew continued to head down onto Route 104. Shortly after entering the route, they were already able to see the beach area Nurse Joy was talking about. It was a beautiful, little, open area. Some people were already just laying there, enjoying their morning. No one was taking a swim though. Our party of four scouted out a nice place in the sun with the water close by, once a nice place was spotted, Richter took off his backpack and took out a big blanket and laid it down in front of him.

"Well here we go guys! I got enough food reserves for this breakfast, but once we get to Rustboro City, I gotta go shopping for ingredients again to stock up again," the leader of the group announced. "I would suggest to go take a swim before eating though, I heard that if you go swimming shortly after eating something, you'll get stomach cramps."

The group took him by the word and happily ran towards the crystal blue ocean, Alexander being the fastest was the first to reach it, but the second the water hit his feet, he jumped back.

"Holy magnoly, the water is colder than an Avalugg in a blizzard!" he exclaimed. Just as he finished that sentence, Auron arrived too with Xavier on his back.

Auron then also tipped his feet in the water and showed the same reaction, "Wow Alex, you were not lying! It really is cold!"

Richter, after taking out all the last bits of food he had with him, went over to his friends to ask what was wrong and why they weren't entering the water."What is wrong guys? Why are you not going in?" Richter asked curiously.

"Put your feet in there and see for yourself," Alexander told his master.

With that said, Richter took off his shoes and socks and threw them over to the picnic blanket, he then rolled up his trousers a little and put his feet into the water."Ahhh, what a great temperature for a swim, I don't know what you guys are on about!" The trainer told his comrades and then took Xavier off of Auron's back and put him on his own back, "You guys have to man up a little!"

The last thing the two saw was the face of Richter with a giant grin on it, "No no no! You can't do this!" were the last words from Auron before Richter gave both of them a giant push forward. The Lucario and Grovyle both flew about six feet from where they were standing and landed in the cold embrace of the ocean.

"AHHH, s-s-sooo c-c-cold!" Alexander said, stuttering because of the freezing temperatures.

"Actually this isn't that bad. Yes it is really cold, but it is really refreshing!" Auron told his friend.

"Well, you have fur that can keep you warm. My scales don't work like that," his scaly friend retorted.

"Hey, stop arguing you two and get moving in there or you will catch a cold! If you keep moving your body will adapt to the temperature soon and you won't freeze anymore!" Richter called out to his two partner, "What about you Xavier, you wanna enter?"

"Well, I never learned to swim, so I would rather sit this one out," the ralts answered.

"Alrighty, that is fine. You can stay with the blanket and guard it," the little fella's trainer said with a smile before dropping him off on the blanket, "If you want you can already dig in and eat!"

Xavier just gave an appreciative nod and took an Oran Berry Sandwich out of one of the boxes they were in.

Richter then proceeded to remove his coat, revealing his face again. He was pretty pale with brown eyes and light brown hair. Next up he removed his shirt, showing off more of his body, but it wasn't like someone would expect from somebody that trained for about 20 years of his life. He didn't have a six-pack or anything, he looked rather normal. Lastly he got rid of his pair of trousers, revealing his short yet sturdy legs. There he stood now, in all his glory, with his hands on his hips and a big grin on his face.

"Yo Alex, why is he grinning like that again? Last time he did that he pushed us in here…" Auron asked his Grass-typed friend.

"I don't know, but i don't like it either…"

Both of them looked confused and scared at the same time, until they heard what was about to happen.

"CANNONBALL!" Richter exclaimed loudly and ran back a little before starting a full sprint towards the body of water.

The two friends went wide eyed and realized what was about to happen. They instantly turned around and tried swimming as far away as possible to not be caught in the blast radius. Unfortunately for them, there was no escape.

Just before Richter hit the water, he jumped up and formed a ball and while he was falling, he screamed, "INCOMING!"

*SPLASH!*

Even though Richter only weighs about 150 pounds and is 5'7" tall, he still managed to create a big wave, splashing everything around him in the water. Of course Auron and Alexander were included.

"Ahh, isn't this refreshing, guys?" The leader asked with a laugh afterwards, "Hey, where are you guys?"

Even after looking and calling out for the two, he was unable to locate them. Slowly but surely Richter got concerned about their whereabouts, "Hey this isn't funny anymore guys! Where are you?" Still no answer.

"Damnit, I can't feel their Aura when they are underwater. Especially since Alexander isn't using Aura and Auron still can't manifest it properly," Richter uttered in concern.

Suddenly, from behind something emerged and was gunning for Richter. That was not a good idea though. Richter quickly turned around and grabbed his assailants arm and proceeded to throw him over his shoulder, back into the water. Right after that, another attacker emerged from Richter's left side, but this time Richter was still recovering from his last move and his attacker smashed him into the water. He struggled around to free himself from his opponent and couldn't see what was going on, only thing he was able to see was a green blur, holding him in a strong grip. Richter saw no other choice, but to counter attack. He cocked back his right arm and unleashed a Mach Punch at the green thing holding him. Shortly after he was able to free himself and swam back up.

"Ouch! That hurt!" said a voice a little far off to Richter's right said, after closer inspection, it was revealed to be...Alexander!

"Yeah, he really doesn't go easy on us…" Another voice was heard right behind Richter, who in return turns out to be... Auron!

"Oh Lord, did you guys attack me?" Richter asked concerned about his friends' health.

"We thought we could have a little fun fight, surprise you a little," Alexander explained while rubbing his head, "didn't expect you to go so hard on us though."

"That's because I didn't notice it was you guys. I thought I was seriously attacked by something, I reacted out of instinct. I am sorry if I hurt you, that wasn't my intention," Richter apologized, "Well, actually it was my intention to hurt you, just didn't know it was you though."

"It's fine, no harm done. I suppose we should have told you first!" The canine looking Pokemon mentioned, "It was actually fun, tag teaming on you, trying to take you down," he added with a laugh afterwards

"Yeah, I thought I had you actually, but that quick punch you gave me was pretty strong. So I had to let you go," the lizard-looking Pokemon explained, "What move was that even? So fast, even underwater, yet with good power behind it!"

"Oh that, that was Mach Punch. A very fast punch that sacrifices power for speed, but if you train it for a long time, you start to add power back to it, while retaining the speed," the young mentor explained to his partners.

"You have to teach me that! You just have to!" Auron exclaimed hysterically, "Please, please, please!"

"Woah there, calm down!" Richter responded with a chuckle, "Well, if you want to learn it, I will teach it. There are actually more variations to that move, once you learn the basic Mach Punch, I'll show you the other variations too, if you want."

"Yes! Absolutely!" Auron exclaimed again, it was a long time since Richter saw Auron so energetic and eager to learn.

"What about the special move you promised to teach me?" Richter's Grovyle asked with his arms crossed, "Don't worry about it, I will teach you that one too. Everything in due time, my dear Alexander," Richter reassured his scaly companion.

"Well then, since we are already in the water. We can do some watersports. I will go a little further out and mark a line basically. You two will then swim back and forth between this line and the shore," the leader explained to his Pokemon, "Any questions?"

"Yes! Does the winner get a special prize again?" Alex asked.

"Uuhh, I didn't think about one yet...Ah! I know what I can teach you!" The young master answered, "there is a technique I can teach both of you, but the winner gets to learn it first!"

"You are on, Alex! I won't lose to you again!" The shiny Pokemon said full of confidence.

"I wouldn't be that cocky, Auron. I beat you pretty badly in our last race," Alexander reminded his friend about their last race, just yesterday.

"True that, but you won't beat me in the water! Me and my dad went swimming pretty often, so I would say that I am quite skilled!" Auron proudly announced, with his hands on his hips and his head held high.

"How about less talking and more swimming? Well, the first one that finishes 25 rounds wins! One round is to swim to the shore and back to me. Any other questions?"

"Nope!" The two Pokemon answered in unison and got into position next to Richter.

"OK! Get ready! Set! GOOO!" The human in the group exclaimed and officially started the race.

The two pokemon quickly started to gain more and more speed and swim pretty fast and indeed, Auron seems to be the faster of the two. He gained speed faster and more consistently than Alexander, who still struggled a bit because of his injured foot. It healed pretty well, but its aftermath is still there, but overall that would not have made a difference.

Auron was already on his way back to Richter's position while Alexander was still on his way to the shore. Just when Auron passed by Alex again, while on his way back to Richter, he said, "Come on Alex! I know you can do better than this!" He said, kindly reassuring his friend about his skills.

The Grovyle quickly gained speed, the small pep talk from his friend boosted his confidence and he was now more eager than ever to win. He wanted to show his friend that he was able to hold up his own. With his new found motivation, Alexander sped up even more and came closer to Auron, almost to the point where they are at the same position. Yet Auron was still faster, his experience from before he lost his father helping him to keep the lead.

Some time passed and they were close to finishing the race, one more round for Auron to finish it, to be precise, and Alexander was only one round behind. Auron was just closing in to finishing the race, but he stopped and stood still, just in front of Richter.

"What is wrong Auron, are you not feeling well?" His trainer asked curiously, "No, it's not that..." his Lucario answered, "I will be back shortly" he added before swimming away again. Richter was curious about what his partner had in mind.

Auron swam towards Alexander, who was on his way back to Richter to complete his last round.

"What are you doing here, Auron? Why haven't you finished the race yet?" The Grovyle asked with serious confusion.

"I don't want to finish the race, not alone. I want us to finish it together, as a team. We shouldn't try to be better than the other, but rather complement each other's weaknesses and come out on top, together," Alexander's furry friend answered, "Come! Hop on my back, let us finish this together now. Richter will have to teach both of us the technique he was talking about, since we both finished first. What do you think, friend?" Auron added and stretched out his hand as a sign of friendship towards Alexander.

Alexander was taken aback by his friend's gesture and was unable to move for a minute, "I...I don't know what to say," he answered.

"You don't have to say anything. Just take my hand and come!" Auron responded with a warm smile.

The grass Pokemon was still a little confused, but shook his doubts and worries aside and took his friend's hand. He hopped on his back and they both started to swim towards the finish line, together.

Richter already saw what was going on and a smirk formed on his face. He patiently waited for their arrival at the finish line with crossed arms, still smirking. After about a minute, both Auron and Alexander arrived at Richter's location, marking the end of the race.

"Well Richter, both of us arrived here at the same time. That means that both of us finished first, right?" The green companion asked, seriously hoping that his partner would say yes.

"Hmm, I don't know...I never said something about arriving at the same time," Richter said while stroking his chin, "Hmmm..."

Both of Richter's Pokemon were seriously worried about the situation. Would he say yes and both of them get to learn the move he promised, or would he say no and possibly not teach anyone? Richter looked both of them deep in the eyes, he saw that spark of hope glimmering in them. He just couldn't say no to someone holding on to their hope and belief so much. Auron doing puppy-eyes helped making that decision too.

"You showed great care and friendship towards Alexander, you knew the risk that you were taking, yet you decided against it for possibly the greater good. You want to be on the same page with your friend, you don't want to be just better than each other, you want to balance each other out. That is a pretty honorable feat and...shall not go unrewarded." Richter finished his speech to the two, "Yes, I will teach you both the technique I was talking about."

The two best friends went wide eyed again and formed the biggest smile anyone has ever seen.

"We did it, Auron!" Alexander proclaimed to his friend and got off his back.

"Yes, we did!" Auron complied.

Both went in to hug the other and they embraced each other tightly, "I would not have been able to do this without you, my friend," Alexander said again.

"Me neither," Auron concurred.

"I hate to interrupt this happy moment of yours, but I think we should go back and have our hard deserved breakfast," the trainer suggested to his partner Pokemon.

"Yes! Breakfast! I almost forgot!" The lizard-like Pokemon said in shock.

"The first that gets to the blanket gets the last piece of Sitrus Berry Cake I brought with me," Richter teased the duo.

Alexander instantly freed himself from the hug and swam as fast as he could to the shore.

"Looks like food is still Nr.1 priority for him," Auron jokingly said and began to swim towards the shore too, but more calmly since he doesn't seem to be too interested in the prize this time.

"I can already see that their bond won't break that easily," the leader mumbled to himself, "Time to crush Alexander's hope of getting that cake though. I want it!"

That said, Richter dove deep down and pushed himself off of the ground to gain a lot more speed. He darted through the water like an arrow through air. Back when he was still in the temple, he had swimming lessons too and he really enjoyed them. Together with Auron, they had many races against each other, always trying to beat the other, in a friendly competition. Back then, they learned to swim from older members and later on from local Carvanhas and Sharpedos, who were close friends with the Lucario-Clan. That is where Richter learned to swim really fast and of course, faster than his partners.

Even Though Alexander was the first that swam towards the shore and Auron taking it easy on his return, Richter easily came out on top and arrived first. He proceeded to go to his backpack again and took out a three little towels from a little compartment in the inside of his backpack. He started to dry himself off with one of those towel, he held the other two ready for his companions for when they finally arrive.

After a couple minutes later, Alexander was the second to arrive at the shore. He was shocked to see Richter there already, sitting on the blanket and drying himself off to finally start his own breakfast.

"Wha...What? How come you are already here? I went first!" The Grovyle asked with a confused look on his face.

"Pretty simple actually, he was faster than you. He swam all the way back underwater, which has a lot less resistance when traveling through water. Other than that, he seems to be more experienced in swimming, better technique, better breathing et cetera," Xavier explained to Alexander. Shortly after that explanation, Auron emerged from the water too, also shocked that Richter was already there.

"Before you ask, buddy. Xavier explained that Richter is apparently is pro in swimming and went all the way from where he was to the shore, underwater. Which supposedly has less resistance when traveling through water and thus he was faster," Alexander gave Auron a quick summary of what Xavier already told him.

"Here you two. Catch and dry yourself off before getting on the blanket," their young trainer said and threw the other two towels at Auron and Alexander.

The two friends dried themselves off and gave Richter back his towels, who in return, put them back in his backpack.

Xavier was already done with his breakfast and just layed down on the blanket and enjoyed the nice breeze of air that came by every now and then as well as the sun shining down. Richter, on the other hand, opened all the boxes in which the sandwiches were located, so that everyone could take the one he preferred the most.

Everyone was happily eating and conversing with each other. Auron told about different stories with him and his dad, Alexander about his time with the Professor, Xavier on his live alone in the woods and Richter about his swimming lessons back at the temple.

Soon came the time Richter eagerly awaited, the time of the dessert! He went back to his backpack and took out another box, the one containing the Sitrus Berry Cake he mentioned earlier.

"Yes, finally! I waited too long for this moment," he said with a grin on his face. He slowly opened the box, revealing the sugary delicacy to everyone. It looked perfect, multiple stages of cream and Sitrus Berry deliciousness, with a whole Berry on top of it all. Weirdly enough, Richter then proceeded to pull out a knife from his backpack and... cut the cake down through the middle, leaving two perfectly equal pieces.

"Here you go you two, you deserve it," he simply stated and put the box with the two cake pieces in between Auron and Alexander. Both of them formed a giant smile and couldn't believe their eyes.

"You are giving us the cake? Even though you won the race?" The Grovyle asked, delighted about the whole situation. Richter just gave him an affirmative nod.

Both Auron and Alexander looked each other in the eyes and also nodded and turned their attention back towards Richter.

Out of nothing, both of them tackled him down to the ground and gave him another big hug.

"Thank you so much Richter! You made our lives so beautiful and great, we owe you so much!" Alexander said while nuzzling himself into his trainers chest.

"Yes! Without you, I wouldn't be here, literally!" Auron added and started to lick Richter's face.

"Woah there Auron! Why are you licking my face?" Richter asked surprised by the sudden display of affection.

"Oh I am sorry! The Lucario line does this to people they really like, me and my father did that occasionally. So I wanted to show you the same appreciation," the canine Pokemon explained.

"Oh, I see. I was just very surprised," the leader said and appreciated the nice gesture, "Well, thank you very much guys! I really feel flattered by your appreciative gestures, but don't let that cake go to waste!"

The duo then left Richter be and turned their attention back to the cake and, together, they enjoyed it very much.

Indeed today marks the day an unbreakable bond, not only between two pokemon, but also their trainer formed.


	11. Chapter 11: A Harsh Realisation

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone ! As you might have noticed the uploads have been a bit more frequent, that is because I have more time at hand now and can write more. SO be sure to hopefully expect more chapters sooner.

 **Viewer's Discretion advised!: This is a violent and graphic chapter! It has graphic violence, indications of rape and Angst !**

* * *

Our team of four finished up their breakfast and packed everything back into the backpack again. They were finally ready to head to Rustboro city for their first Gym Badge.

"Well then, it is time to head off! Just a little further are the Petalburg Woods, when we go through there we will basically be in front of Rustboro City," the leader explained their plan of travel.

The Pokemon gave a nod and started walking back up to the grass areal of Route 104. Just a little further ahead was the entrance to Petalburg Woods. Just as our quartet wanted to enter, a young man stopped them in their tracks.

"You people shouldn't go through there, it's too dangerous! Sevipers and Zangooses have started their petty little war in there. Everyone that dares to enter is seen as an enemy and will be attacked relentlessly, form both parties. It's just sad for the Pokemon that have their natural habitat there…" The young man finished his explanation on why our team shouldn't head into the woods.

"What? What are those doing here? They should be on Route 114, as far as I know," Xavier said to Richter telepathically.

Richter then turned back to the young man and asked, "I heard they should be located on Route 114, why are they here now endangering other pokemon?"

"The Elite 4 of Hoenn became sick of their war on Route 114 and told them to go separate way from now on, or there will be real war. They didn't want to mess with the Elite 4 and left, but not too long they found themselves here, in Petalburg Woods, and reignited the war they had. The Elite 4 said they would send someone again to stop all this nonsense, but to this day nobody came," the young man finished his explanation about the situation.

"Well you are right about one thing, Sir. Up until nobody came, I will finish this. Once and for all, I can't sit idle while innocent Pokemon suffer under circumstances that they didn't cause," Richter's expression turned very serious when he said that and proceed through the entrance, his Pokemon right by his side.

After they entered the new area, they looked around to spot any danger. They stood there watching their surroundings for couple minutes, before moving on.

The second they moved, something jumped out of a bush next to Xavier and it was going for him.

Everything slowed down for Xavier, as he saw his assailant, a Seviper, closing distance on him. It was opening its mouth, revealing the razor sharp teeth. From one of them, poison was already leaking. Just before the fangs connected with poor Xavier, a blur appeared before him and suddenly the Seviper was gone out of his sight.

Richter stood next to his Ralts, holding the Seviper in his right hand, gripping it tightly so it won't be able to escape.

"Now, listen up here buddy. You are gonna tell me where your leader is and I will make our parting as least painless as possible. Understood?" Our protagonist said in a firm and serious tone.

"Drop dead, human! I won't tell you anything! How are you even capable of communicating with usss?" The Seviper hissed.

"I will give you two more chances to answer my question in an orderly and nice manner. So, where is your leader?" he asked again, growing a little more impatient.

The snake still hesitant to answer, growing more and more hostile by the second.

"It does not seem like it will tell you anything. You might want to let her go, no reason to talk to a wall," Alexander said from behind Richter.

"One last try. Where. Is. Your. Leader?" strengthening his grip on the violet snake.

The Seviper was definitely under pain now as Richter was tightening his grip around its head.

"Auron, I need to tell you something important. Back when I saved you from that Luxray pack, they didn't actually ran away when I arrived. They wanted to eat you and your dad, I couldn't let that happen. Sooo, I had to fight them, fight them to death. I killed two of his Luxios, only then he started to run away with the rest of his pack," Richter revealed the truth to his friend, "I am being honest with you, with all of you here. I have killed my fair share of Pokemon, but I only did it in self defense or to defend others. That is something we learned back at the temple."

Auron was shocked by what has been revealed just about now, same with Alexander. Xavier on the other hand didn't think too much into it.

"I...I understand what you did and I appreciate it a lot. Without the actions you took back then, I would not be here talking to you. I promised to you multiple times that I will stay by your side, no matter what. You having killed before won't alter my choice nor my opinion about you," Auron said with a serious yet at the same time happy voice.

"Well, I am pretty shocked about this revelation too, but, just like with Auron, your actions won't change my opinion on you. I know that the world isn't all sunshine and happiness, death is also part of life. So, don't worry, I will stay by your side too!" Alexander elaborated with a smile on his face at the end of it.

"Well, I don't really care to be honest, I also know that death is inevitable. Especially when you have to fight for your own life," Xavier simply stated.

"Thanks for your understanding everyone. I appreciate the loyalty and honesty from all of you," Richter replied with a little bow at the end, "Now back to you, my little fella."

Richter started to spin the Seviper above his head and after about ten seconds released it, it flew straight into a tree, shattering its skull on impact.

"This will set a sign to anyone else close by, showing that we are not joking around nor that we are some people to take easy," the leader said in a stern voice.

"Everyone, stay close to me! The poison won't hurt Auron, but would be devastating to Alexander and Xavier," Richter explained to his team.

Our squad treaded lightly forwards, always trying to be aware of their surroundings so that no more surprise attacks should occur. They tried staying as far away from bushes as possible, since the snake's like to hide in there.

"It's weird...We still haven't encountered any Zangoose. Shouldn't they be in a constant war with each other according to the guy at the entrance?" Auron asked raising an eyebrow, "You are right, there definitely is something wrong...," Richter added to Auron's observation.

The leader stopped his team in their tracks and shushed them down. He then crouched down and put his right hand on the ground. He stood there for about a minute before suddenly rising up and unsheathing his katana.

"Everyone! Get ready to fight! They are coming!" He exclaimed loudly and entered his battle position, "I know this is a lot to ask, but don't hesitate to finish them off if necessary!" he added.

They positioned themselves, back to back, so they can't be attacked from behind. Xavier just stood there in between them.

The earth began to shake a little, a rumble started to sound and grew louder every second. Our crew knew what was about to happen, and everyone turned very serious and battle ready. The rumble grew louder and louder, until it stopped and everything went silent. This silence remained for another 10 seconds, "What happened?" Auron whispered to the others. No one answered and stayed more alert than before.

A sound, similar to a branch snapping, could be heard and right after that the assault started. Zangoose and Seviper appeared out of seemingly nowhere and poured towards our heroes. Zangoose using Slash and the Sevipers Poison Tail.

Richter skillfully blocks every strike heading for him and cuts down every opponent foolish enough to challenge him. One of the Zangoose jumped at him and tried to do an aerial attack. Richter just pushed his sword towards him and stabbed him right through his chest. The lifeless corpse slid down the blade towards Richter, looking at him with now lifeless eyes. Our swordsman pushed the body off his katana and cut down another Seviper jumping at him, cutting it precisely through the middle.

Meanwhile, Auron was holding off his own. He entered his Swords Dance status again and fending off his attackers via a variety of moves. He countered another Slash attack from a Zangoose and retaliated with a Power-Up Punch. Thanks to his Swords Dance status and the enhanced attack from previous Power-Up Punches, he was able to punch the Zangoose's head clean off. Auron was clearly shocked by what he has just done, but didn't lose his composure. He quickly understood that this is a life or death situation and that it is either him or them and he didn't want to die now, especially after Richter saved his life just a couple of days ago. His conviction and motivation grew stronger.

On the other side, Alexander quickly and easily dodged every attack that was directed at him. With his already incredible speed, he dodged and countered his enemies. Using Pound and Bullet Seed he was able to keep his assailants at distance. However, a Seviper was able to sneak up on him and jumped at his face, using Poison Tail. Alexander was shocked and froze in place, he knew that if that attack connects, there would be little chance for him to get out alive. Suddenly, Auron jumped in front of his friend and took the attack for him and then proceeding to get proper revenge by aiming and hitting the Seviper's face with a Force Punch. The impact and the wave of energy following right after, caused the poisonous snake to fly off to the distance and against a tree. The impact against the tree caused it to break its inner bones and spines, rendering it useless.

"Thanks, bro! I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help me there!" Alexander said with a thumbs up to his best friend, "Don't worry about it, I also don't want to know what would have been if you were hit by that. Let's just continue and try to stay alive," Auron responded, also giving a thumbs up to his friend.

The Team held close together, defending each other from incoming attacks. The enemies were merciless and just kept coming, it felt like an endless stream of Zangoose and Seviper. Our protagonists gave it their all, fighting what felt like an eternity, even though the fight lasted about 10 minutes only. Slowly but surely the enemies died out and less and less opponents were left, some even were overcome by fear and ran away. After another two minutes of figthing, the brawl and onslaught finally stopped.

Auron and Alexander were heavily breathing and exhausted, while Richter was still cautious and active. He was more experienced in fighting afterall, he knew that this would not be it.

"Very well done guys, I am proud of you all! But I am sorry to say, this was probably not everything. Their leaders didn't show up yet," the sword wielding fighter said to his team.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*, a slow clapping could be heard from behind the team, from where they entered the woods.

"I would have never guessed that something like this could happen. I am impressed, really!" A male voice said from in the shadows, "Everyone that came in here died a quick yet painful death, you four are the first to survive!"

A young man stepped out of the shadows, on closer inspection, it was revealed to be the man that tried to stop our crew from entering all together.

"No problem, young man we are always happy to help the innocent!" Auron responded with a big smile, still covered in the blood of his enemies.

"Hehe, I don't think you understand in what situation you guys brought me into. You know, I am the one that brought the Zangoose and Seviper here. It was me that brought them under my control!" The man said with a maniacal laugh afterwards.

"What? Why would you do that, and how above all things?" Alexander chimed in and asked, confused about the whole situation

"He is the one the Elite 4 send to stop all this in the first place, but he saw his opportunity in controlling all of them instead of just resolving the whole conflict all together! But there is still something missing. Why would he do all this, why would he stay in the woods here and kill everything and everyone that enters. You are hiding something, something that should never see the light of the day. What is it!?" Richter exclaimed, clearly angry at the guy before him, "Who are you exactly?"

"Me? Haha! My name is Damien and about the question, what am I doing here. Well, you won't survive to tell anyone, so let me show you," Damien said before throwing out a Pokeball and releasing a Leafeon, "You there! Use Flash!"

The Leafeon shivered in fear and hesitated doing what it was told to do, "Do I have to make it clear again what happens if you don't obey me!" The crazy man screamed at the little Eeveelution.

The small, green Pokemon covered in fear again, but complied with its master's order and used Flash. A bright light erupted from the Leafeon's body and illuminated the dark area behind it, where Damien stood.

What was revealed, surpassed everyone's imagination. A big pile of corpses, Pokemon and trainers alike, was rotting in one corner, while in the other multiple Pokemon were covering in fear of what might happen to them now.

"What do you think? I am killing everyone that opposes me and those who survive or I like, I take them as prisoners! There are people who know about my work here, they come and ask if there are any interesting Pokemon lately that I caught. Then I just sell them or add them to the pile over there if they are not popular enough. If someone is interested in a Pokemon, but does not want the one I have here, they pay a little extra and I just force breed them their desired Pokemon. You can't even comprehend how much money I make with this! HAHAHA!" was by now completely mad.

All members of the team couldn't believe their eyes and what they just heard, Auron's eyes started tearing up and he turned away, trying to forget what he just saw.

"Guys, I need you to look away for a minute please. What is about to happen will not be pleasant either," Richter said in a stern voice, not losing eye contact with the mad man before him, "Alexander take Auron and Xavier and move them away from here, I will find you soon enough and then we will leave this cursed place."

"HAHAHA! You think you will leave this place alive? Don't make me laugh, just because you defeated a horde of low life Pokemon, that aren't even worth their weight in shit, does not mean you can easily defeat me!" screamed at the hooded young man before him, "You will be added to that pile of corpses like every other trainer that opposed me and sweet little Pokemon? I am sure a shiny Lucario will bring me fortune, Lucario's don't even exist in Hoenn. I will breed hundreds of them and will be rich! HAHAHA!"

Right after his little speech, took out 5 more Pokeballs and threw them in the air, releasing the rest of his team. A shiny Zangoose and Seviper, the former leaders of the Zangoose and Seviper faction that waged war between each other. A Machamp, a Hitmonchan and another Hitmonchan.

"Listen up people, I don't want any more death and killing here to happen. Leave his side and join mine and you will be freed. I promise!" Richter pleaded to the opposing Pokemon.

"You crazy? We are getting rich with this idea of his! I will never leave his side again, my former trainer was a pussy and was always afraid to fight. This guy here though, he knows what's up!" The Machamp answered, "Why do you think we joined him in the first place? That is why we stopped our war and joined this guy here. He is the one that united us!" The Zangoose leader answered.

No one wanted to join Richter's side, at least none of 's Pokemon. The other imprisoned Pokemon were too afraid to say anything.

Just as Richter lost all hope to saving them, the Leafeon suddenly started sprinting towards Richter. Richter didn't even enter his battle stance, he knew what was happening.

"Please Sir, help me and the others here. We are sick of this guy and his madness! Please, please, please!" The Leafeon begged Richter, cuddling at his leg to show happiness and relieve. Its eyes tearing up and starting to cry.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine now. I will handle this, go back to my Pokemon over there, they will lead you to safety. Once I am done with this mad man here, I will free the rest and lead you to freedom," Richter reassured the Leafeon and gave it a pat on its head.

The Leafeon grew a big smile and jumped in joy, once she calmed down a little she ran over to Alexander and the rest. They left the area and hid somewhere out of sight and danger.

"That was real cute and all, but she will be even more devastated once she finds out that her hero died in battle and then it is time for more Eevee eggs, do you know how popular Eevees are right now?" Damien responded, "But enough talk! Prepare to die!"

"I Couldn't have said it any better, Damien. Prepare to die, indeed!" Richter exclaimed back and entered his battle stance.

"Wolverine! Nagini! Go and show him what happens to people that oppose me!" She mad man ordered the Zangoose and Seviper to attack, "Use whatever means necessary to dispose of him!"

The unlikely duo started running at Richter, viciously they tried to take him down. Wolverine starts out with two quick Slashes, directed at Richter's chest, while at the same time Nagini goes in for a Poison Fang at Richter's right leg.

Our protagonist block the two Slashes from the shiny Zangoose with his sword and quickly turns to slash down at the Seviper himself. The snake was really agile and easily dodged the slash, while still going for the Poison Fang attack. Richter noticed that and quickly raised his right leg to perform a Roundhouse Kick towards the Zangoose, while at the same time dodging the snake's attack. The normal type Pokemon dodged the kick with a simple crouch and then tried to uppercut Richter with a Fire Punch, "Burn in Hell!" he exclaimed while performing the move. Richter simply leaned back, barely dodging the Fire Punch in the process. He was able to feel the intense heat of the attack, but didn't lose his composure. He saw his chance to retaliate and took it. While Wolverine was still in mid-air from his uppercut move, Richter quickly performed a horizontal slash at his adversary. The katana cut through the Zangoose, like he is made out of butter. In one clean cut, the opponent got halved. The two parts fell down separately and his entrails spilled everywhere. The upper part of his body tried crawling away, towards his master, but shortly after he lost all signs of life and just fell limb.

Nagini was shocked at what just happened, his former rival, defeated so easily. She even crawled away a little, fearing of what would become of herself if she continued fighting him.

"Don't you dare run away now! It doesn't matter if he is dead or not, you have to fight our enemy!" Damien ordered the snake to attack.

The former Seviper leader was still hesitant, but quickly noticed that if she does not do what Damien says, she would die either way. With that decision made, she quickly slithered towards our young fighter with incredible speed. Richter calmly analyzed her movements and predicted where she is gonna move to next and slashed at that predicted place. Nagini used her quick reflexes and dodged the attack yet again and slithered in between Richter's legs and got behind him. She saw her opportunity and struck from behind. Richter was not about to lose now after all he has accomplished. He used Extreme Speed and slowed down time around him, he saw Nagini striking at him with a gaping mouth, revealing a pair of poison fangs, bigger than any other Seviper. Richter took his opportunity and stabbed his enemy through its gaping mouth, causing the sword to exits from its back end and stopped his usage of Extreme Speed.

Nagini went wide eyed, understanding what just happened. She looked into Richter's eyes just moments before she breathed her last, only thing she saw were his fiery eyes, staring down at her before everything went black and she fell limb.

Richter pushed the lifeless corpse of Nagini off of his sword and directed his stare back to Damien.

"Who is next? Or do you finally give up?" He asked the maniac, "Do you really wanna carry this on!" he screamed at him.

"I won't give up! Machamp go, show him what pain is!" Damien ordered his next Pokemon into battle.

"As you wish, boss!" The walking mountain of muscle said before walking towards our protagonist, "Those two always were the weakest link in our team. Let me show you how a real Pokemon fights."

Richter just scoffed and poised his katana before him again, just waiting for a mistake to take advantage of.

"I see you are not the talking type when you are fighting," the Machamp said with a grin, "Let's see if I can't get a sound out of you when I squeeze your intestines out!" The Pokemon said angrily and started to sprint towards Richter.

Richter just stood there, unimpressed by the threats the hulk of a Pokemon just told him. He, again, carefully analyzed his opponent's movements and designed a plan of attack in his head. The Machamp came closer and closer, but Richter still just stood in the same spot unmoved by whatever is coming at him.

The four armed Pokemon cocked back both of his right arms and flung them at the human in front of him with full force. Richter just grinned and did a small hop to the side, completely negating the Machamp's attack, but that was not all. Before the Machamp even recognized that Richter dodged, the swordsman unleashed a strong downward thrust with his katana at the two arms that were stretched out from the attack just right now. It was difficult cutting through all the muscle mass in those arms of him, but Richter had enough power to achieve that, causing the blade to cut through both of the arms. The Machamp screamed in agony after realizing that he just lost his right arms, "I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!" he roared and flung both of his other arms at Richter. The same dodge saved Richter again from a two devastating blows, the Machamp didn't learn from his last mistake. He really was just brawn and no brains. Richter simply repeated the same downward slash at the other two arms, rendering his enemy harmless.

"Do you need a hand, Machamp?" Richter asked sarcastically with a laugh after his one liner, but the, now armless, Machamp didn't think it was really funny. He started to run head first into Richter.

Our Protagonist was seriously baffled by the mindlessness of his opponent, he thought to end this quickly before he starts hurting others too.

Since the Machamp didn't know what was happening in front of him, Richter decided to make it easy on his opponent. He positioned his sword in a straight line ahead of him, in the trajectory the Machamp was running at. Just as predicted the mindless pile of muscles just ran straight into the blade, he helped Richter even, by running that fast he had enough velocity to break through his skull. Literally impaling himself.

Richter just shook his head in disbelief, how could one Pokemon be so stupid, he asked himself.

"Well two more to go, come and show me what you got!" He proclaimed loudly.

Meanwhile, his teammates and the Leafeon were hiding in a bush nearby and were able to see everything happening.

"I didn't know that Richter was this skilled in fighting. I mean I already thought he was strong and all, but not like this. This is incredible!" Auron said in excitement.

"I know! And he is doing all of this for us, for us not to get hurt. I am so happy to be one of his partners!" Alexander agreed with his friend's statement.

"What type of trainer do you guys have? He is a better fighter than any Pokemon I have seen before!" The leafeon asked curiously, not trying to raise its voice to not draw any attention to them.

Back to Richter and the two Hitmonchan that are left with Damien.

"You two really want to do this too?" He asked the two boxing Pokemon, "Well we are not as brainless as that piece of muscle-no-brains was over there and we are two against one now!" One of the Hitmonchan said and rushed at the hooded figure before him, the other Hitmonchan closely following his partner.

Richter knew that he can't take those two lightly, but he knew a fatal weakness of them. Aerial attacks!

Richter quickly jumped up, dodging a swift jab from the first Hitmonchan, and delivering a strong High Jump Kick to the second one. He didn't even see it coming and couldn't protect himself from hit, he was smashed into the ground, the katana following right after. Richter stabbed his opponent right through his heart. Suddenly the shape of the Hitmonchan changed to a dark and red one and then into a completely different from all together. It turned out to be a Zoroark in disguise, acting as a Hitmonchan.

The real Hitmonchan got really angry at the sight of his dead teammate and charged into Richter, prepping up a Mach Punch. He got really close to our protagonist and threw out his fast punch, aiming at Richter's face.

Richter quickly did the same, their fists connecting to each other, the resulting impact of the two powerful fighter stirred up a lot of wind.

"You are good kiddo, it is a shame I have to finish you off. You would have made a really good apprentice of mine," The Hitmonchan cockily said with a smirk on his face, "Don't make me throw up please. I fought opponents at least twice as strong as you, you are nothing compared to those I trained with," Richter retorted.

Hitmonchan's smirk quickly vanished and turned into an angry expression, "Have some respect kid, I will show you some!" He exclaimed and threw a Fire Punch with his other hand, hitting Richter point blank in the face Richter didn't even flinch nor faze from that attack, he just stared back at his adversary and said, "That was weak and you said you are good."

This caught the Hitmonchan off guard, Richter used this moment of confusion and unleashed a devastating Sky Uppercut on the Hitmonchan, sending him flying. This was the perfect opportunity for Richter to finish the fight, once and for all. He readied his blade again and performed an upward slash, cutting his opponent from bottom to up.

With that, the last Pokemon of Damien was defeated, rendering him completely defenseless.

Our hero slowly walked up to him, Damien on the other hand tried running away, but tripped and fell. Richter was now towering over him.

"Please have mercy! I don't want to die..." He said and started crying, "Mercy? Did you have mercy with anyone else here? Now man up and face your judgement!" Richter responded.

With that said he thrusted his katana into Damien's private parts, making him scream in agony, "That is for the forced breeding, you sicko!" Richter yelled at Damien, "And this is for everyone you killed!"

Right after finishing his sentence, Richter sliced off Damien's head in one clean cut.

"This nightmare is finally over! You can all run free now!" He shouted at the Pokemon hiding everywhere.

Some Pokemon instantly took this opportunity and ran away, others were hesitant at first but still decided to run away too.

Richter's comrades came out of hiding to celebrate their victory about Damien, but before they arrived, Richter suddenly dropped to the ground.

Back to Richter's point of view.

Richter felt dizzy and his vision was blurring, "Oh no, not right now. I didn't think it would start so early…" he blacked out and fell to the ground. He was able to hear the faint call outs from his teammates before completely falling unconscious.


	12. Chapter 12: A Race against Time

A couple days after the recent event, Richter was finally waking up again and he was greeted by some special, yet familiar guests.

"Look! He is opening his eyes!" a muffled voice could be heard, "Finally, it was about time!" another voice added to that.

Richter slowly opened his eyes, his vision still rather blurry. His vision slowly getting better and slowly he was able to make out shapes and forms around him.

"Good to have you back, Richter! Did you have a nice dream?" The voice came from the blue shape to his right, "Well I am sure that he rested pretty well, after being asleep for three days," The green one said to his left.

"Ughh, where...where am I?" Richter muttered, it pains him to talk.

"You are in a Hospital in Rustboro City, apparently you got bitten by a Seviper and its poison ran its course through your body," the blue shape answered again.

Richter's vision got better by now and he was finally able to see more clearly. He was able to see Auron and Alexander now, being to his left and right.

"How, did I get here? What happened?" He asked his partners, curious about what happened after he blacked out.

"Well it all happened like this..." Auron started.

 **Flashback 2 days ago**

"Richter! Richter! Come on wake up!" Auron yelled at his trainer's body on the ground. Alexander laid his head down on Richter's chest and listened, "His heart is still beating and he seems to be breathing. He is alive, but unconscious," The Grovyle explained.

Meanwhile Xavier arrived on the Leafeon's back and said, "We have to get him to a hospital! There should be one in Rustboro City since it is so big," he explained to his teammates, "Alexander, go climb the big tree over there and look from up there where the exit towards the city is. Auron you have the duty to carry Richter, since you are physically the strongest of us all here!"

"Understood!" The duo said in unison and proceeded to their respective duties.

"But how are we gonna explain to the humans that he needs help? I don't want them to think we did that to him," the Leafeon uttered its concern, "Leave that to me, I can talk to humans. I'll make it clear that we are his partner Pokemon and not his enemies," the Ralts reassured the newest member of the team.

"I think I see the red roof of the Pokemon Center over there! Its in the opposite direction from where we entered the forest, so I think that should be Rustboro City!" Alexander shouted from the top of the tree and jumped back down to his teammates.

"OK, we need to move fast but also careful to not hurt him more in the process of transporting him. We don't know what caused this to him, so we can't be reckless," Xavier elaborated, "Auron pick him up slowly and Alexander, you go and lead us to the city."

The Lucario nodded and slowly picked up his young master while Alexander orientated himself again to lead the way.

"Xavier you can hop on my back again, I'll carry you," the Leafeon tried to offer its help to the team, "Thank you!" Xavier said and hopped back on its companion's back.

"Everyone ready?" The Psychic Pokemon asked, "Yes!" everyone else said in unision, "Then let's go save Richter's life, like he saved ours!" Xavier exclaimed again.

Together they followed Alexander's lead and soon saw the exit of the forest in the distance. The crew got very excited and started to speed up to finally leave this cursed place and get some help for their trainer.

When they finally got out of the forest, they were seen by two trainers.

"Look at that! Someone made it through the forest!" One guy in black shirt and blue jeans said, "Yeah but look! Their trainer didn't make it apparently," the other trainer added.

"Wrong! He is still alive and breathing, he is just unconscious, but he desperately needs medical attention! Where is the next hospital, please help us!" Xavier told both of them telepathically.

"What? Who said that?" The first trainer asked, confused where that voice was coming from, "It was me, the Ralts. I can talk to humans using telepathy, so please listen to me and help us save our trainer! Please!"

The trainers looked at the team, seeing them all close to crying. The Leafeon already got teary eyes and Auron used his puppy-eyes again to gain sympathy.

The trainers looked back at each other and nodded, "OK, we believe you and we will help you," the second trainer said, "Rustboro City has a hospital directly across the Pokemon Center, so when you find that just enter the building on the other side of the path and talk to the woman at the desk. She will probably be able to help you," the first man said and added, "We can't come with you though, we are here to stop everyone trying to enter the forest from this side, but I am sure you guys will manage to find it!"

The troop of friends hurried into the city and looking for the iconic red roof of the Pokemon Center. Alexander sped through the city, to see if he can find it quickly and indeed after not even a minute he was able to locate the desired building. He ran back to his teammates and told them where he found the Pokemon Center and led them to their desired destination.

Once they reached the Pokemon Center they looked across the street to see if they could find the hospital the trainers were talking about. There was a big, white building across the street and it had a big sign stating "Rustboro City Municipal Hospital".

"This has to be it!" Xavier told his friends, quickly, let's get him some help in there!"

The collective of Pokemon run towards the building and entered through the glass doors. A blonde woman was sitting at a desk, she instantly rose up when she saw who was entering the building. She noticed that one of the Pokemon was carrying somebody and hurried over to them.

"What happened? Is he your trainer?" She asked hysterically.

"Yes, he is! He fought some Pokemon in the Petalburg Woods and after he won he just fell over and went unconscious. Please you gotta help him!" Xavier used his telepathic powers again to tell the woman his trainer's condition, "It's me, the Ralts that is talking to you telepathically, please help our trainer!"

The woman was a little overwhelmed as to what was happening but tried to not lose her composure. She nodded and yelled for a stretcher, soon two ,nurse like, woman came in with a stretcher. Auron helped them put Richter on the stretcher and they quickly took him away.

"What are you going to do to him now?" Xavier asked, "We have to look for any wounds he might have, analyze his blood and monitor him about other things too, since we don't know what happened to him exactly," the desk woman explained.

"We want to be with him, no matter where he is!" Alexander exclaimed to Xavier.

"We don't want to leave his side! Please let us be with him!" Xavier told her, "We also don't have anywhere else to be, but with him. We owe him that, he is the one that saved our lives!" he begged her.

"Fine, you can stay with him. Normally we don't allow that but since you don't have anywhere else to go nor seem to have Pokeballs to be in. I guess I can let you be with him, but under only one condition! You have to be quiet and careful, there are a lot of sick people here and we don't want to disturb them," she kindly explained.

Xavier nodded in agreement and told his friends about it. They all let out a sigh of relieve and a smile grew on their face, replacing the grim looks they had before.

"Here let me show you where we will be stationing him," the nice woman said with a smile to soothe the crew and then started leading them further into the hospital.

After a little walk through some corridors, they arrived what appears to be Richter's room for the next time being.

"Wait outside here for a second, I have to check what his condition is before letting you in there," the desk woman said and then entered the room alone. After about five minutes, she came out again and said, "OK, you can enter, but he is still sleeping and recovering, so you need to be absolutely silent. He definitely needs rest now." Auron and his friends understood, but Xavier still had to ask something, "Did you find out what his problem is?"

"Apparently he was bitten by a Seviper according to our findings, more precisely, he was bitten in his right leg and the poison slowly started to flow through his whole body. It is a neurotoxin, it is a miracle he held out this long. Usually their victims die within a minute," she explained kindly.

"OK, thank you very much for your help!" Xavier told her and then motioned for his comrades to enter the room.

Once they entered, they saw Richter lying in a bed, hooked up to a machine to monitor his heartbeat and an IV connected to his right arm.

"He looks so beat, I wish we could have helped him. We just hid somewhere and watched him get beaten..." Auron whispered in a sad tone, "We did help him with that, Auron! We were not in his way of fighting, he was able to go all out and not look after us. He ordered us to hide because of that reason," Xavier calmly explained.

"I guess you are right, but still. I felt so useless in that moment, I mean usually Pokemon fight for their trainer, not the other way round," Auron retorted, "I completely understand what you mean by that, but he is not like every other trainer. To be honest with your, I don't even see him as our trainer, I see him more as a father figure. He cares for us, like people would care for their children. I really appreciate that," Alexander told his teammates.

"I know exactly what you mean by that and I only have been part of this team, no, this family for two days. I never felt included in something before, up until the day I met you three," the Ralts confessed to his teammates.

"I know I am new, but I hope I can fit in here too," the Leafeon said with its head held low, "Hey there. Don't be so shy or uneasy, you heard didn't you. We are something like a big family here and everyone is welcomed," Auron reassured the little Eeveelution and went over her and gave a her a little pat on her head.

The grass version of an Eevee grew a big smile and went wide eyed, by how nice, warm and welcoming everyone was to her. Not only that, she started jumping up and down and skidded along the room and laughed happily.

"I appreciate that you are so happy, but we have to keep quiet for Richter. That was the agreement we made with the hospital, so could you please keep down your enjoyment a little?" Auron said in a stern, yet appreciative tone.

"Oh, right! I am sorry!" The Leafeon apologized and moved back over to the rest of the team.

"Oh no! We forgot Richter's stuff back in the forest!" Xavier exclaimed, while still trying to be as quiet as possible, "Alexander! You are the fastest from all of us on land, can you go and collect his backpack and katana and bring it back here? His every belonging is in that backpack!"

"Already on my way! I will be back shortly! The Grovyle said and gave him companions a thumbs up before leaving the room, "I will tell the personnel what he is doing, so they won't be surprised when he arrives with a backpack and a sword," the Psychic Type Pokemon told his other two teammates and left the room too.

Only Auron and the Leafeon remained in the room, just standing there and silently watching their partner's health condition.

"You think he will make it? I don't want to lose another partner!" The fox like creature said with obvious concern in her voice.

"Don't worry! He is one tough guy. When he wakes up again, he can tell you his unbelievable stories about his life. You won't believe what he has already been through, this is nothing compared to it," Auron said in a smooth voice, to alleviate any worry the new member of the team has.

"I already noticed he is special. I mean, I don't think any Pokemon would have survived those fights and enemies. Especially while poison was running through his veins!" she answered back to the shiny Pokemon, "Yeah I know. I know him the longest and yet he surprises me with his abilities every time he fights," Auron agreed to his teammates statement.

Time started to fade away, after five minutes, Xavier finally came back and told the rest that the personnel is now informed. Together they just silently waited, until Alexander finally returned.

"Here you go! His backpack and sword were exactly where he left them and I think nothing is missing either," the reptile looking Pokemon said and left the equipment next to Richter's bed, "How is he doing?" he asked.

"Nothing changed since you left, which I guess is good and bad. I suppose we can't expect him to recover in just couple of hours, even if we want that," Auron explained to his scaly friend. Hearing that, Alexander just sighed and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, "What do we do now?"

"The same he would do for us, wait for him to get better and continue on our journey," Auron answered again.

And with that, they all waited the rest of the day in the room, hoping that through some miracle maybe, their friend would just stand up and go on about with his life, like nothing happened. They all knew that wouldn't happen, but it was a fervent wish.

It was night time now and the four friends started to get sleepy, but they didn't know what to do.

" *Yawn* where should we sleep?" The Lucario asked, "We are not going to leave his side, no matter what!" Alexander simply answered. Auron just nodded, to show that he agrees with that.

"Well then it's decided, we gonna sleep here with him," Auron told the group.

That prompted a simultaneous nod from everyone, then they all got together and cuddled up in a corner of the room. They kept each other warm and tried to find the most comfortable place to sleep in. After struggling a bit, the lot fell asleep.

Shortly after, a nurse enters, "Oh right I wanted to - Oh, they just fell asleep on the floor. I wanted to give them a bed to sleep in." The nurse left the room for a bit and came back with a big blanket and laid it down on the huddled up troop. With that the another fateful day in Hoenn comes to an end.


	13. Chapter 13: A Day without Richter

Another day starts in Hoenn, another day for our troop of unlikely friends, but this time something was different. This time, Richter wasn't the leader. This time the Pokemon were on their own.

As the rays of light, from the sun, hit through the small window in the hospital room and into Auron's eyes, it slowly awakened him from his slumber. The Lucario slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. He was still on the floor with his friends. To his right was Alexander, to his left were Xavier and the Leafeon. He looked up to the clock next to Richter's bed on a little nightstand, it says it's 1:35 P.M.

"Oh man, we slept for quite some time and the others seem don't seem to want to wake up either," he mumbled to himself. Just when he was about to stand up, his stomach rumbled, signaling that he was hungry and it was not a very silent rumble. It actually made Alexander wake up too, "uhh, five more minutes please. I just had such an amazing dream too…" he uttered before falling back asleep.

"Looks like I have to get some food for us today, since Richter still is out of commision," he said to himself and slowly stood up, to not wake up his friends.

Once he was standing tall again, he went over to Richter and whispered to him, "We all really miss you! Please be strong, don't leave us, we don't want to be alone again. So please, wake up soon again!" While saying that, his eyes teared up again and he actually started crying. Audon tried to be as silent as possible, he didn't want to wake his friends up to him crying. After a little while, he composed himself and brushed off his tears, before he left the room.

Once he was in the hallway, he looked around and tried to find a nurse to ask for some food if possible. With his strong sense of smell, he was able to locate a delicious scent, coming from down the hallway. He followed it to the source and was standing in front of a closed door. Auron was curious if there would be a kitchen of some sort. He went ahead and knocked on the door, to see if someone would answer it and indeed, another nurse opened the door.

At first she was shocked to be greeted by a Lucario, but then she remembered that he was an exception.

"Oh hello there buddy! How can I help you?" She asked with a smile. Auron, not being able to communicate with humans had to do some sign language to get his message across. He opened his mouth and motioned his hand towards it, hopefully being able to signal her what he wants.

"Hmm, I guess you want food?" She asked curiously, Auron just nodded happily with a smile.

"Aww, I am sorry but we are not allowed to serve food to Pokemon. This is a hospital for humans," the nurse sadly explained.

Auron couldn't believe what he just heard. His happy expression turned to a very sad grimace and his ears fold down. He knew what he had to do, his old yet very effective strategy, puppy eyes.

"Awwwww, don't make that face please! I can't bear to look at you like that, here wait a second!" The young nurse said and vanished into the kitchen again. Shortly after she came back with a tray full of food, "Don't tell anyone I gave you this, OK? Or I will be in great trouble and don't forget to give some to your friends too!" She explained and gave him a little wink before vanishing back to the kitchen.

Auron was delighted that his little trick worked, but he knew this would be the first and only time. He had to think of ways to get food for later tonight and also for more days if Richter doesn't wake up soon, but he didn't want to think of that right now. Right now he wanted to bring food for his friends, they can decide together what to do next.

Right as he was about to enter the room, the door opened and he was greeted by Alexander's tired face.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Auron asked his friend with a raised eyebrow, "I was about to go looking for you, since you were not there when I woke up, but I see you went out to get some food. That's really nice of you!" The Grovyle answered, still a little sleepy.

"Yeah, I got somethings, but the nurse said that they don't serve Pokemon here since the food is meant for the patients stationed here. So this is probably the first and last time we get food from here. We will have to discuss with the rest on how we are going to get more food," Auron explained further, "Alright we'll do that after we eat, I am starving. Come on in now," Alexander said and motioned for Auron to come in.

The canine like Pokemon went through the open door and his friend followed right after him. The other two members of the team were still sleeping, so they decided to slowly wake them up, Auron waking up Xavier while Alexander wakes up the Leafeon.

"Good mor…I mean Noon, everyone! It is time for lunch, come and get some before it gets cold!" Auron told his friends. Xavier and the Leafeon were rubbing their eyes before they stood up and sat around the tray that Auron brought. It had some mashed potatoes, a bit of salad, some sandwiches and four cups of tea, one for each Pokemon.

"Enjoy your meal guys, we have something serious to talk about after this," Alexander announced to the group.

Everyone started digging into their meal, enjoying every bite of it. It actually didn't take long until every last bit of the food was gone, they all were really hungry.

"Well then, it is time to get serious," Alexander proclaimed in a serious tone, "Auron was able to fetch us this meal today from the kitchen, but they don't serve Pokemon in here since the food is meant for the patients, not for us. So this will be the first and last time we will get something to eat from them. From now on we have to get our own supplies, without the help of Richter. He counts on us, he knows we are able to do this. I mean we fend off so many enemies in our last battle, it would be a disgrace if we couldn't manage to get some supplies to make ourselves something to eat!" He elaborated further.

The lot started to think hard about what Alexander just said, they all tried to brainstorm ideas on how to resolve this issue. A couple minutes passed in complete silence as everyone was trying to come up with a solution.

The first one to speak was Auron, "Guys I know that Richter is a very wealthy person, the temple gave him access to their funds as a parting gift alongside his weapon. It is some sort of card that he uses to pay for everything and he usually keeps it in his coat. With that we may be able to go to a PokeMart and buy ourselves supplies," he suggested.

"That does sound like a plan alright. I guess we should get going now then," Alexander agreed with the proposed plan.

With that decided, Auron stood up again and walked over to Richter's coat that was hanging next to his bed. He checked the pockets on the outside and only found some tissues and about 50 PokeDollars, that amount would probably not be enough though. Auron then checked the inside pockets of the coat and actually finds what they were looking for. He pulled out the piece of plastic and presented it to his teammates.

"With this we can buy whatever we want and need! Let's go and buy some things already," the strongest member of the team said.

Everyone gave a nod of approval and got ready to leave. Auron took the tray and brought it back to the lady in the kitchen and thanked her by bowing. Then he went back to his friends and they started to leave the hospital. Once outside they looked for the iconic blue roof of the PokeMart.

"Alexander I would suggest you go look around the city again and try to find the PokeMart!" Xavier suggested his idea on how to quickly find their next destination.

The Grovyle agreed and ran off while the others stayed behind and awaited his return. About ten minutes passed and Alexander still didn't return.

"Do you think something happened to him? I mean it shouldn't take him this long to run around the city," Auron proclaimed his concern about his friend, "You are right, this is a little odd..." Xavier agreed with the concerns of his friend, "Let's hope he is alright!" The Leafeon chimed in.

Another five minutes passed and the group of friends got seriously concerned, just when they decided to go looking for him, someone familiar came around the corner.

It was Alexander, but he was pulling someone with him, someone Auron and Alexander came to know. It was Reese and closely behind her, her brother Jake. Just as they came around the corner, both of them instantly recognized the blue and gold fur of Auron.

"Hey Jake, isn't that Auron? Richter's Lucario?" Reese asked her older brother, "I think there is only one shiny Lucario in the whole of Hoenn right now, so I'd say yes, he is," the brother replied.

"Wait, could this Grovyle possible be his Treecko then?" Reese continued to ask, just then, Alexander turned around towards her and nodded rapidly, to signal that she was right about her conclusion. He then motioned to Auron and the others to come closer, he wanted to use Xavier's ability to talk to them. The others understood his signal and started walking towards Reese and the others. When they arrived, Alexander pleaded Xavier to tell them their situation and that they can be trusted.

Xavier used his telepathic abilities again to explain Reese and her brother Jake the situation they are in right now.

"Oh no that is terrible! Where is he?" Reese asked hysterically, "He is fine right now and sleeping. He needs the rest to recover properly," Xavier elaborated further.

"Jake, Reese, can we ask a favor from you two?" The Ralts asked shyly, "Of course! How can we help you all?"

"Well, to keep it brief and simple. We don't have any food left for our journey and we actually wanted to go shopping for supplies today with Richter, but you know how that won't work now," the psychic started explaining, "We have money for everything, but I don't think they would allow us Pokemon to go ahead and buy things from the PokeMart. So could you two be so nice and help us, please!" he begged them.

"Absolutely! Right, Jake?" the young lady asked her brother in a stern voice, signaling that there is no other correct answer than "yes".

"Yes, of course, Reese. Let me show you guys the way to the PokeMart. It's actually really close by, they are usually in close proximity to the Pokemon Center. Here in Rustboro City it is right behind the Pokemon Center actually," Reese's brother explained with smile.

They followed his lead and just walked behind the Pokemon Center and lo and behold, there was the PokeMart with its easily recognizable blue roof.

"Well then, what do you guys need to buy? Potions? Pokeballs? Or only some ingredients for food?" He asked the Pokemon.

"We need a lot of berries and bread to make more sandwiches and just some other things to snack on," Xavier told their helpers.

"Alright, what are we waiting for, Let's go!" Reese said with an energetic voice.

Everyone followed Reese's lead into the PokeMart and looked around for useful supplies. Everyone was looking for something else and gathering what they think is useful for them in the future.

"OK, we have these berries, bread, some snacks for when the little hunger strikes, a big towel and...swimming trunks? Who needs those?" Jake asked the group as he was looking through the items they were about to buy, "Richter, he needs them as well as the big towel. He didn't have those when we were swimming, so we wanted to surprise him with a gift. As well as thank him for everything he has done," Xavier translated what Auron told him.

"Alright, then let's go pay for those and then head to Richter," Jake responded.

Everyone nod in agreement and Auron and Alexander gave their two helpers a thumbs up to signal their appreciation.

Auron gave Jake the card and he proceeded to pay with it for their items of choice. Once everything got packaged by the PokeMart worker, the crew went over to the hospital to check on their friend. As they arrived, Xavier told the desk woman that those two are close friends with Richter and that they shouldn't worry about them. After that misunderstanding was cleared before it even began, our group of Pokemon and people moved through the corridors again towards Richter's room.

Together, they entered the room to see how their friend is doing.

Everyone treaded lightly to be as quiet as possible, but when Reese saw Richter, she hurried over to him. She placed her hand on his face and slowly caressed it, then she turn around to Xavier and asked him, "What is his problem now exactly, you only said that he fought Pokemon and then just fell unconscious."

"Well, we had to reach Rustboro City to fight the first Gym, so we had to go through Petalburg Woods. The Seviper and Zangoose had their war there, but Richter didn't care, he just wanted to pass through. We got attacked and had to defend ourselves, but unfortunately Richter got bitten by a Seviper and poisoned. That's why he fell unconscious after the fight was over," Xavier told Reese, hiding the whole truth from her to not worry her too much more.

"But why did he go through Petalburg Woods in the first place? The woods have been closed for quite some time already, so Petalburg City established a flying service to Rustboro City. That is how Jake and I came here, we flew over here via Charizard Express. You just had to talk to the City's Gym leader;" the young girl explained, "Oh right, he is new to Hoenn. I guess he didn't know about it," she corrected herself.

"it is a miracle that he survived in the first place though. Seviper poison is extremely deadly, their prey die really fast. A normal human dies within minutes to its neurotoxin," Jake added.

"Yeah, he never really seemed like a normal human to me though. He is very special, he doesn't seem like one that would just give up and go," Reese said softly, "Well then, just staying here and griefing won't do much. We will help you get ready for the next part of your journey!"

"Alright! Let's start making those sandwiches for example," Alexander suggested and Xavier told the others.

They all nodded in agreement, got themselves some knives from the hospital kitchen and started making some sandwiches together.

"We wanted to thank you two again for your help. Without you two, we don't know where we would be right now. We owe you a lot, is there anything we could do for you?" Xavier translated what Auron just said.

"We don't need anything, friends are there to help in times of need. We actually wish that we could do more than this," Jake reassured the Pokemon.

After they heard what Jake just said, they got together in a little conference and talked for a bit. After a little while Xavier spoke up again, "Well now that you said it. Could you maybe get us into the Pokemon Center and get us checked up? We were not able to get there and without a trainer they probably wouldn't look at us either way."

"Sure! I just need Richter's Trainer Card and then I can get you guys checked up for him. Let's do that when we are finished with the sandwiches first though," the big brother agreed.

After that was agreed upon, they happily continued their work on preparing the provisions. It took some time of the day as they were talking and working at the same time. Getting to know eachother more and more.

It was about night time now and Jake and Reese got tired.

"OK, guys we are getting pretty tired here. Let us all go to the Pokemon Center together now, I'll let you guys get checked up while we two get ourselves a room to stay for the night. Once you are done, you can go back here if you want, or I can get you a room too with Richter's Trainer Card. It's up to you guys," Richter's friendly rival suggested.

"Thank you very much Jake, but we will just come back here afterwards. We don't want to leave

Richter alone. We are a big family after all, we can't just leave him alone. Imagine if he gets up at the night and nobody is there with him. Even right now we don't really wanna leave him here, but we should get checked up too. We don't want to cause him any trouble or concern when he is back up," Xavier responded.

"Alright as you wish guys. Let's go then so you can come back before it gets really late," Jake proclaimed.

Everyone got up and slowly exited the room again and then the hospital altogether. They walked across the street and entered the Pokemon Center. It was very bright and lit up, so it is easily spottable for everyone, it serves as a point of orientation after all.

Jake led them into the building, at the desk was, as always, a Nurse Joy just waiting for anyone that needs help.

"Welcome, Sir! How may I help you?" The Nurse asked with a smile, "Well, I need these Pokemon checked up for my friend that unfortunately can't do it himself, since he is injured and lying in the hospital across the street. Other than that, I need a room for my sister and me here for the night," Jake explained to her.

"Alright, then I will need your friend's and your Trainer Card and ID, please!" The nurse responded.

Jake quickly took out and gave Joy his and Richter's Trainer Card, which he found in Richter's coat. After the employee typed in all necessary information, she motioned for Auron and the rest to move to the medical bay behind her and then told Reese and her big brother where their room for the night is.

After about one hour, Richter's pokemon got all checked up and just some minor injuries were treated. No one was seriously hurt or in danger, everyone was happy about that revelation. Just when they were about to leave, they all bowed in respect and appreciation towards Nurse Joy and then left. They returned to the hospital again, greeted the nice desk woman and proceeded to go back to Richter's room.

"Well guys, time to head back to sleep for today. Let's hope he wakes up tomorrow, I really miss him. I think we all do," Auron commanded the rest of the team, "Yeah we all do miss him, we really grew attached to him. He saved us all from a less desireable life, we owe him so much," Xavier added to that.

Everyone else gave their consent too and, together, they cuddled up in their last sleeping position. Shortly after they all fell asleep again.

Their first day, and hopefully last, without Richter was over. They all really wished for him to be back.


	14. Chapter 14: 1 out of 8

"And now we are here basically. It's 11:25 A.M. right now, we recently woke up too," Auron concluded his re-narration of the last day and a half.

"I know I was bitten by a Seviper and that its poison was running through me, but I thought I would be able to hold on until we reached Rustboro City. I was not cautious enough and one of them sneaked up on me. I am sorry if I made you all worry," Richter replied with a weak voice, "Hey Auron, could you do a me a favor and check the pocket at the front of my backpack? There should be little boxes with berries in them."

"Sure, one second," his loyal friend replied and checked for the boxes of berries Richter was talking about, "You mean these boxes?" Auron waved a couple small boxes at Richter's direction.

"Yeah, now give me the box with the green ones? Those are Kebia berries, they help against poison attacks. I forgot to eat one before we entered the woods," Richter explained

Auron handed over the box with the Kebia berries to his friend Richter and put the other ones back into the backpack. Richter took one berry out and ate it in one go, not even removing the seed in it.

"You said you went shopping for berries, right?" The, still weakened, Richter asked his Lucario, "Yes we did, do you want to eat something?" Auron responded, "More or less. Did you get some Pecha Berries? I need those right now," the young trainer answered.

"I think so, let me check though," the shiny Pokemon responded and went over to Richter's backpack again, where they put all the things they bought. After a little bit of searching, he pulled out another box, full with light pink berries.

"I just remembered, they are Xavier's favorite berries, so we got some for him. Especially since he helped us communicate with all the humans here and there," Auron said with a smile on his face. He then gave the Pecha Berries to Richter, yet again Richter took one out and ate it in one go.

"The Kebia Berries help reduce the damage poison can do to you and Pecha Berries heal any kind of poison," the trainer explained to his Pokemon, "These two together should help me recover way faster. I'll probably be up and running in about 2 hours."

Right then, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Alexander shouted.

The door opened, Reese came through it and closed it right behind her again.

As she glanced over to Richter, she noticed that he is awake. She went wide-eyed and rushed straight to him.

"Finally! You are awake!" She said cheerfully as she was right next to his bed, "How are you doing?"

"I am fine, don't worry about it. How are you though, seems like I made you worry. I am sorry about that," Richter responded with a faint smile.

"You don't need to be sorry, but what were you doing in Petalburg Woods? Did nobody tell you about the charizard flying service from Petalburg City to Rustboro City?" Reese questioned.

"Nope, we got warned to not enter the woods, but not that there is a flying service. That would not have changed my decision though, I couldn't let that war between those two Pokemon disrupt the peace of the others. I had to intervene!" Richter answered back, "You may say it is not of my concern, but it is. No one else was going to stop it apparently."

Yet again someone knocked on the door, "Oh that must be Jake, he said he had to visit the men's restroom," the young girl explained, "I'll get it!" Auron said and hurried over the door to open it. The second he opened the door, he was catapulted back and slammed into the wall behind him.

"Auron!" Alexander and Richter said in unision.

Through the door came a young man with brown, curly hair in a sweater and a Flygon behind him.

"Well, well, well. You must be the one that went through the Petalburg woods alive, am I correct with that assumption?" the mysterious figure asked, looking at Richter.

"How about you introduce yourself, Mr. Big Shot?" Alexander hissed after running over to his furry friend and helping him up again.

"Me? You don't need to concern yourself with me. I am just here to get answers," the guy in the sweater responded, "Now, where were we? Oh, right. You were about to answer my question."

"Wait, you can understand me? But how?" The Grovyle asked confused, "I told you already, you don't have to concern yourself with me!" the other guy answered rather angrily.

"My friend here is right. Who are you and how come you understand what he says? Answer me!" Richter retorted with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You are not in the position to make demands! I am the one on top here!" The young man yelled back, "You are lying in bed, what could you possibly do?"

After that, Richter's angry expression turned to a smirk. In a blink of an eye, he jumped out of his bed, grabbed his blade, unsheathed it in the air and pointed it at the young man's throat, while pushing Reese behind himself.

"This for example, this is what I could do. Now, who is in the position to make demands? Who are you?" Richter retorted, "And don't even think of letting your Flygon in here, it would be dead before slapping its wings in here."

The brown haired boy took a step back and ordered its Pokemon to step back too, both with an annoyed expression on their faces.

He sighed and then answered, "My name is Logan and I am here to ask you some questions. Nothing more, nothing less. Now would you be so nice and put that thing down for a second, I don't like being threatened by a toothpick if you don't mind."

"Still having a big mouth I see? Maybe I should cut it down a notch?" our protagonist said, "Don't make me laugh, you are not someone that would kill without his life or someone else's being in danger. You have a high sense of justice and a big moral compass," the mysterious trainer explained.

"You are digressing again, who are you?" Richter proclaimed and took a step closer, still aiming the sword at the guy in front of him.

"My name is Logan. Are you happy now? Can you answer my questions now?" Logan answered, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.

"Yes, I did come through the forest and as you can see, I am pretty alive. Now I would be really happy if you would leave now. I don't want to do something I might regret later," Richter finally answered Logan's question.

"Thanks, that is all I needed to know. Have a nice day!" Logan said with a smile and did a respectful bow before exiting the room.

Richter waited a couple seconds to make sure that Logan really left. After about ten seconds, he suddenly collapsed, only able to support himself with his katana.

"Richter! Are you alright?" Reese asked frantically and helped her friend up, "Yeah I am fine, I kinda overdid it a bit," the patient said, "But I don't think this is the last time we will see him."

The fair lady helped Richter to get back to his bed.

"Auron, are you alright? Did you hurt you?" the weakened Richter asked from over his bed.

"I am fine, it's just a little cut. He used Dragon Claw on me, guess my Steel typing helped me tank it," Auron replied.

Richter gave off a sigh of relief, happy that his partner wasn't seriously hurt or anything. Shortly after, Jake entered the room too. Nobody told him what happened though, to not make him worry too much.

"So why are you two here? Not that I am disturbed by it, quite the opposite really, you two really helped me out a lot," the young trainer asked Reese and her brother.

"I never told you, but I am also out to get my first Gym badge here. My Eeveelutions, I got since I was little. So I stuck with them as my starters," Jake explained, "And my sister is here to support me on my journey."

"Ah, that's always nice to have someone with you to go on with your journey," Richter responded with a smile.

"Uhh, Richter…" Reese started out, "Yes? Is there something Reese?" the man in the bed next to her asked.

"Are you able to talk to Pokemon?" She asked straight out without any other hesitation.

"Oh, yeah I can," Richter plainly answered.

Reese was surprised by that answer, "But...But how?" She questioned further.

"Well, it all started out when I was about one year old…" Richter started out to tell his story.

As Richter was slowly explaining his life story, everyone listened mesmerized by every word.

Xavier and Alexander already heard the story, but only in a shortened form. This is the first time they heard in it such detail. Even though Auron did get to know the full story, it still moved him deeply again, hearing it a second time. Especially the part where Richter and Auron fought Auroros for what they believed in and lost, really moved everyone to tears. Jake and Reese couldn't believe what they were hearing, they just didn't want it to be true.

"That...That is terrible! I can't believe something like this could happen. Oh Richter, I am so sorry for you. Nobody should experience something like that!" Reese said in tears and went in for a hug.

Richter blushed a bit when Reese came so close and so suddenly, "Hey, it's fine! Really! The important part is to never forget your past, but also to not let it control your life. Learn from it and better your future."

Even Jake started crying, even though he tried his best not to, "Hey sis, come on. You are squeezing him a little too much," he said with a little chuckle at the end and wiped off his tears.

Reese quickly released Richter and stood up from the hug, while obviously blushing, she brushed off her tears too.

"I am sorry, I don't know what came over myself. I didn't want you to feel awkward or anything," Jake's brother said with her head hanging low and blushing even more than before.

The other Pokemon already composed themselves again, though the Leafeon still couldn't quite believe what she just heard.

"Haha, it's alright Reese. I don't mind at all, everyone should enjoy hugs," Richter answered with a smile.

Everyone calmed down again and just tried to enjoy themselves.

Richter looked around the room and remembered something. His new team member doesn't have a name yet.

"Hey, Leafeon! Come and jump up to me, we need to talk," he said looking at the Grass Eeveelution.

The little Pokemon was a little confused on what he needs to talk with her, but decided to not disobey its trainer and jumped up next to him.

"I wanted to ask, did you have a name before. Maybe from your previous owner?" Richter asked the newest member of the family.

"I did, she called me 'Spring' because I reminded her of the season, but I don't want that name anymore. As you said, one should not forget his past, but not let it influence the future. I want to have a new name, I want to have a new start," the Leafeon formerly known as "Spring" said, with determination in her voice.

"Alright! Hmm..." Richter thought deeply about a new and fitting name for the Grass Pokemon. Shortly after, Richter's face lit up. It looked like an epiphany came over him.

"How about 'Autumn'? It is the opposite season to Spring, symbolizing that Spring is over and you are about to enter a new season, a new life," the young trainer proposed.

"I love it! I really like the fact that it symbolizes my life so much," Autumn replied with a big smile and nuzzled herself into Richter. He let out a hearty chuckle and started petting Autumn.

After telling Richter's life story and other little talks here and there, time passed to about 2 P.M. Already.

"Uhh, guys. I don't know about you all, but I am pretty hungry, we haven't had breakfast yet," Alexander said, while holding his stomach.

"Alright then, let's see how well you made those sandwiches without me," Richter was curious on how well his friends did without him.

Auron went over to Richter's backpack and pulled out boxes with different Berry Sandwiches, "OK, who wants which Berry Sandwich?"

Everyone walked over to the Lucario and chose whatever sandwich they desired the most, except Jake and Reese.

"You two can join us, we have more than enough for everyone here," Richter said while looking at Reese and Jake.

"Oh thank you, but no thank you. We already had breakfast at the Pokemon Center," Jake politely refused the kind offer.

"More for us I suppose," Richter mumbled to himself and shrugged.

Everyone sat down somewhere and enjoyed their respective sandwiches. Alexander and Auron sat together in one corner, Xavier was right next to them and Autumn was still on Richter's bed and enjoying her sandwich too.

Some more time passed and now it was about 3 P.M.

"Alright everyone. It is time go and get that first Gym Badge finally," Richter exclaimed and slowly stood up from his bed. Only then he noticed something. He didn't have his usual clothes on. Rather he was in white robe, meant for all patients to wear while at the hospital.

"OK, where are my normal clothes?" our protagonist asked openly to everyone, "Uhh, I don't know. When we were led in here, you already were dressed like that," Auron responded.

Richter let out a sigh and exited the room, "I will be back shortly."

After a couple of minutes, he came back with a pack of clothes in his hand, "Looks like they were storing it somewhere for me."

"Uhh, not to be rude or anything, but I would appreciate it, if you two would leave the room for a moment. You know, I wanna get dressed," he told Reese and Jake, "Oh, oh right! Sorry, we will wait for you outside the hospital, alright?" Reese responded rather frantically and left the room while taking Jake with her.

Richter shook his head with a smile and started undressing and then dressing himself again. He was now back in his old set of clothes. His deep blue jeans, his white shirt and on top of everything, his coat. He was back and healthier than ever.

"Ahh, this little rest really felt good. I guess I should just lay down and relax couple of days, every now and then," he talked to himself.

"I am glad you feel a lot better now," Auron said and went in for a hug from behind, "I think we all are glad that you back in action," Alexander agreed.

"Thanks guys, really appreciate that you were worried about me and I will try to not make you worry ever again," Auron's partner responded, "Alright now, we gotta leave though. I don't want to make Reese and her brother wait as well as the Gym leader."

Everyone nodded in agreement and started heading out of the room after Richter picked up his backpack and katana from the wall next to his bed.

They all walked down the hallways back to the reception, where the desk woman was sitting. Richter went over to her and asked, "Do I need to pay for anything?"

"Since you are officially a trainer and not someone that has a 'proper' job, you don't have an insurance. Since trainers also run into danger and might get hurt, we treat them for only a fraction of what it would usually cost," she explained simply, "Your medical bills sum up to...1400 Pokedollars. 300 Pokedollars for the room per day and 500 Pokedollar for the antivenom. Normally this would cost ten times more."

"Well good thing I am a trainer then," Richter said with a smile and gave the woman his card to pay for everything.

After the transactions are done, everyone said their goodbyes and left the hospital. Outside were Reese and Jake waiting for the lot. Together they went to the Gym of Rustboro City, a sign says "Rustboro City Gym – Rock Type – Gym Leader: Roxanne"

They entered the gym and walked towards the reception. A young woman with light brown hair was sitting there, "Hello! How may I help you all?" She asked with a big smile.

"My friend Jake and I are here to fight the Gym leader here for our first badge," Richter explained, "Alright! I just need your Trainer Card and ID to register you for the battle," the reception lady responded, again smiling.

"Just one more question, do you happen to have a training room. Somewhere my Pokemon get themselves ready?" our hooded protagonist asked kindly.

"Yes, we do! Just go through the door right behind me. We have training equipment, a room to test moves in and a small arena to do a little sample fight," she happily explained, "When you are done, you can come to me anytime you want and we can start the real Gym battle."

Jake and Richter both handed over their respective Trainer Cards and Ids. Jake went right into the official Gym arena, while Richter and his team walked over to the room where they are allowed to test moves on.

"Why are we not heading to the Gym battle like Jake?" Auron asked once they were in the room.

The room was full with targets, some made out of wood others out of steel and other forms too. On the other end of the room was something like a shooting range, where Pokemon were able to train the accuracy of their moves.

"Well for once, because you guys didn't train for a day so we have to make up for that. Secondly, you guys still need to master some moves. Auron you need to finally be able to use Aura Sphere and Alexander. You need to master Leaf Blade, which you learned after evolving as well as the move I wanna teach you because you won the first race. Energy Ball," Richter explained to his duo, "Xavier, you can try using Psychic on those little balls over there and Autumn, you will use Razor Leaf on those targets at the range. I want you to be as precise as possible."

"Alright!" Everyone said in unison and walked over to their allocated positions. Richter walked with Auron and Alexander together to the targets at the one end of the room.

"Alright! Now, Auron. You will be able to truly manifest your inner Aura and perform an Aura Sphere, understood?" Auron gave a nod and started focusing hard, "Alexander, you will try to cut down those wooden targets with Leaf Blade, once you are done with that we will start with teaching you Energy Ball." Richter ordered his partners, "Yes, Sir!" Alexander answered and already started his assault towards the targets.

Richter just stood by Auron, while Alexander was performing his task.

After an hour has past, Auron was finally able to control his Aura to a point where he could use Aura Sphere and Alexander cut every single wooden target in the room down.

"Alright! Good Job everyone! You all make me really proud," the Exiled exclaimed to his partners, "Now it is time for your new Move, Alexander. Are you ready?"

"I was born ready! Teach me, Master!" The Grovyle responded, completely enthusiastic.

"Technically it isn't really difficult. You are taking the energy around you and put it into your leaves on your arms, correct?" Richter asked his companion, "Yes, indeed that is how I do it," he agreed with his teacher.

"Alright, Energy Ball is very similar at that. Your arm leaves serve as a medium for that energy, but if you want to use Energy Ball, you have to be able to control and focus that power without a medium. Basically you have to concentrate that energy before you and then release it when you think it is stable enough to be unleashed," Richter explained slowly so that Alexander could follow easily. He then proceeded to form an Energy Ball himself, "I can perform this move via Aura usage, I can change the form of the Aura to include nature's energy in it and thus use the same move."

"OK, I think I get what you mean. Let me try it now!" The reptile looking Pokemon said seriously and went over to the other targets. He focused intensely and gathered green energy in his hands, slowly forming it into a ball like shape.

"Yes, good Alexander! You are doing great! Now try to aim and unleash it on the target in front of you!" Richter commanded, also excited about his partner's progress.

Alexander focused for a second again to make sure the ball is stable, took aim at the target and unleashed its power. The green ball of energy flew at its target, though curving a lot and in the end missing the target, the resulting explosion blew up parts of the target though.

"This is a very, very powerful Grass Type move, use it only when you are sure that you can pull it off and preferably also hit the target," Richter elaborated further.

"Thank you very much, Richter! I'll keep that in mind!" Alexander responded, "What about the other move you wanted to teach us? To the both of us as the reward for winning the water race?"

"Oh right, that one. I will teach the both of that once I feel you two are ready for it, it is a devastating move. So I want you to be ready to use it," the mentor explained to his two partners.

Both of them looked disappointed by that answer, but still accepted Richter's decision.

"Alright, now that everything has been settled. Let's go and get that badge!" He exclaimed loudly and put his right fist up in the air, "Come on everyone, give me a high five!"

Everyone ran over to their trainer and one after another gave him the high five he wanted.

They then went out the room and head back towards the receptionist. Jake and Reese were already waiting for Richter to get back.

"Ha, I assume you beat the gym?" Richter asked Jake, "Yes indeed my friend. Lily took out those Rock types with ease," the other trainer responded and showed his Leafeon by his side.

"Well then, I am sure Alexander will also make short work of those Rock types," he added.

After that was said, the Grovyle got really happy about that compliment and felt more motivated than ever.

"We'll see each other again, I am sure of that. Until then, I wish you a good luck on your battle and on your further journey!" Jake said with a smile and left together with Reese.

Richter turned towards the receptionist and said, "Alright, we are ready to take on the challenge now!"

The woman smiled and motioned him over to the platform to her right. Once Richter stepped on it, it started moving upwards. At top there was a pathway leading to, presumably, the gym's leader. On the pathway, to the left and right of it, were two other trainers, one female and one male.

"I guess we have to fight through those two first before we are allowed to challenge the leader," Xavier proclaimed, "I think you are right about that, Xavier. Well then, let's not keep them waiting any longer," Richter responded with a smirk on his face.

He approached the first trainer, the male one, "Alright, you must be the next challenger. I hope we can have a good and fair battle!" the young boy said and threw out his Pokeball, releasing a Geodude.

"Auron, you will take on these small frys!" Richter announced and Auron jumped in front of Richter and got into his battle stance.

"Geodude, use Rock throw! Show them the power of rocks!" the male trainer ordered his Pokemon.

"Auron, use Power-Up Punch to punch right through that rock," Richter commanded his partner. Auron did exactly what he was told to do and easily broke through the rock.

"Alright, now use Quick Attack to get close and finish him off with a Force Palm!" Again, Auron executed said order with precision. He ran next to the Geodude, while dodging more Rock Throw attacks. Followed by that, Auron focused energy in both of his palms. Forming a big blue sphere. Auron used Aura Sphere! It was super effective!

The Geodude could do nothing but faint after taking an Aura Sphere from point blank range. "Argh, I guess I lost. You may proceed further challenger," the gym trainee said while pulling back his Geodude.

The shiny Lucario struck a victory pose, both paws in the air and smirk on his face.

"Auron we gotta talk," Richter said in a rather serious tone. His partner Pokemon turned around with a confused look and walked towards his trainer.

"Look, I know you wanted to show off that you can use Aura Sphere, but I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do. I...I don't want you to get hurt, so I try to minimize any damage that could happen to you," Richter explained firmly, "Richter, I know that, but you also gotta trust me. I wouldn't do anything reckless without good reason and I know you want Alexander to fight the Gym battle. So I gotta show off some things at least, you need to trust me more. I am no child anymore. Thanks to you I learned very important values already and am able to fend myself off. It doesn't mean I don't need you anymore, it's just that a Pokemon is supposed to fight for his trainer, not the other way around. I just need to prove myself!" Auron explained also in a firm and serious voice.

"I didn't know you thought like that. I am sorry for holding you back all the time…" Richter uttered, disappointment in his voice. He was disappointed about himself.

"It's alright, we both need to learn more about each other. We both are still at the beginning of our journey," Auron replied again, this time with a soft voice and put his right paw on Richter's left shoulder.

Our protagonist's face turned soft again and he gave his partner a nod of approval, "Yeah we gonna do this together, we all are gonna do this together!" he exclaimed.

Together, they moved forward to the next opponent, the female trainer.

"I see you have defeated my brother, but you won't get past me. Come out Geodude and show them who's the boss!" She said as she threw out her Pokemon, another Geodude.

"Auron I'll leave this to you. Do as you see fit," Richter ordered with a thumbs up. Auron just nodded in response and quickly dashed into the battle.

He elegantly dodged every attack without any commands from his master. He even picked off one rock from the air and catapulted it back at his opponent. This caused a lot of dust to whirl up on the pathway and vision was limited. The Geodude was looking around herself to try and find Auron, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Auron was sneaking around the Geodude to get behind it. Once he got in position, he concentrated a little energy in his right paw and unleashed a Force Palm at the unsuspecting Geodude. That knocked it out flat immediately, winning the battle for Auron.

Yet again Auron struck his victory pose.

"Good Job bro!" Alexander exclaimed, celebrating his best friend's victory, "Thank you, Alex!" Auron replied right back.

"Alright you beat me too. Now you are eligible to fight the Roxanne, the Gym leader! Good luck challenger!" The female trainer said and motioned our team towards the woman standing at the end of the pathway. There was a big arena like place, so that both sides could go all out in the fight.

Richter and everyone else turned their attention towards that area and slowly walked towards it.

Once there challenger was on his side of the arena, the Gym leader welcomed him, "Welcome new challenger! Are you ready to feel the wrath of the rocks!" She said as she pulled put the first out of two Pokeballs, "Come out, Rocky!"

She threw the ball in the air, it opened and released the Pokemon that was residing inside. An Onix came out and let out a battle roar.

"Alright Alexander, it is your time to shine now. Go out there and make me proud!" Richter said to his Grovyle, who already was impatiently waiting to finally battle.

"I won't disappoint you!" His partner said and ran into the arena and entered his battle stance.

"Rocky, use Rock Tomb! Bury that Grovyle!" Roxanne commanded. The Onix then used its tail and hurled a lot of rocks towards Alexander, intended to bury him under those.

"Alexander, use the rocks to get closer to the Onix and use Leaf Blade!" Richter ordered his partner.

The green scaled Pokemon understood what his trainer wanted from him and did he was told. He used his speed and agility to dodge the incoming rocks. He jumped onto the one's still in the air to get closer and closer to his opponent. He jumped real high and far and was now above the Onix, "Now! Leaf Blade!" Richter ordered again.

Alexander gathered the energy around him into the leaves on his arms and once finished gathering that energy, he performed a downward slash at his enemy's head. That attack slammed the Onix into the ground and Alexander landed back on his feet. It looks like the enemy was defeated, but the referee didn't say anything, right then Roxanne formed a smirk on her face and exclaimed, "Rocky use Wrap, cling on that Grovyle!"

Suddenly the Onix started moving again and quickly wrapped around Alexander with its body. It started squeezing Alexander, which made the Grovyle scream in pain.

"Alexander!" Richter exclaimed frustrated. He thought for a moment to come up with an idea to get his partner out of his situation.

"Use Energy Ball!" Richter decided to command his partner.

Alexander tried to focus, even under the immense pain of being slowly crushed. He slowly but surely gathered nature's energy in front of his mouth. After about seven or eight seconds later, he constructed a ball of energy, "OK, unleash it now!" Richter yelled to his partner Pokemon.

The grass type Pokemon opened his mouth and shot the Energy Ball move towards his opponent. The Onix was too slow to dodge it and just face tanked it. Shortly after the move connected, the grip around Alexander loosened and he was able to escape it completely. Once the combination of smoke and dusted lifted, which was a result of the explosion caused by the Energy Ball attack, Rocky was completely down. The referee announced, "Rocky the Onix can't continue to fight!"

"Hmm, that was impressive challenger, but it isn't over yet!" Roxanne commented and threw out her second and last Pokeball, "Get me the Victory, Meteor!"

Out came a Golem, who looked very serious and ready to go anytime.

"Meteor use Earthquake!" Roxanne ordered her Pokemon.

Right then, Richter went wide eyed. He knew what was gonna happen if you doesn't react quick enough.

"Alexander, jump up and use Bullet Seed on the ground to cause dust to fly up!" our protagonist shouted to his battling partner.

Just as ordered, the agile Grovyle went into a crouching position and then jumped up with all his might. Just then, the Golem also did a small jump and then landed back down on the ground, causing the ground to rumble and shatter. Thanks to Alexander's quick movement he was able to dodge the Earthquake attack beneath him. He then proceeded to use Bullet Seed on the ground around the Golem to stir up dust and possibly even hit his opponent in the progress. With the Bullet Seed attack, Alexander was able to gain more air time and thus wait out the aftermath of the Earthquake.

The opponent was now engulfed in dirt and dust, which impairs its vision.

"This is our chance now! Use Energy Ball and aim at the cloud of dust in front of you!" was Richter's next command to his partner.

Richter's Pokemon started gathering energy in between its hands again, this time faster than before. Just after three seconds, Alexander readied up another Energy Ball and shot it towards the target area. Yet another explosion ensued and more dust got whirled up.

After about a minute of patiently waiting for the dust and dirt to settle, it revealed the Golem still standing, but it was clear that it was exhausted and hurt from that powerful Grass type move. Especially since it has four times the effectiveness against the Rock and Ground type Pokemon.

"Time to end this! Meteor use Rollout!" Roxanne gave her final order.

"I agree, time to settle this! Alexander meet it with Leaf Blade!" Richter retorted back.

Both Pokemon started their attacks. The Golem formed itself into a ball and started rolling towards his opponent. The Grovyle gathered yet again energy in the leaves attached to his arms and started running towards its opponent too.

Right in the middle of the arena, they clashed against each other. Both trying to hold their ground against the other. After some seconds an explosion ensued because their powers collided for so long.

From one side, Alexander got pushed out, but was able to land on his feet. He was clearly hurt from that, cuts and small injuries all over his body.

The Golem on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Only after the mist of dust settled, the Golem was seen. It was lying on his back and was unable to move anymore. Then the referee stepped in, "Meteor the Golem is unable to fight any longer! The winner is Richter and his Grovyle, Alexander!"

"YES! I WON!" Alexander exclaimed and formed a big smile on his face. He quickly thought of a victory pose to show off and decided to point with one of his claw at himself and show off a big cocky smile.

Richter just sighed in relief and smiled at his partner.

Roxanne called her Golem back into its pokeball and slowly walked over to Richter.

"Here take this, you clearly earned it. The Stone Badge, to prove that you have conquered this gym. Now go and get the next one, the Knuckle Badge from Brawly in Dewford Town!" The Gym leader said.

Richter took the badge from her hand and looked at it under the light. It glimmered bright and he was proud of this accomplishment. He was proud about everyone, without his friends he would have never achieved it.

The hooded man then gave Roxanne a handshake and walk off to the previous platform again. It started moving back down to the main hall where the receptionist was. He waved at her as he left the building. Once outside he turned towards his companions.

"We did it guys! We got our first badge!" He cheered intensely and gave everyone a quick hug and a high five.

"Hey Alex! You did great out there, I am proud of you!" Auron told his scaly friend, "Thanks! I guess you weren't that bad either," Alexander responded with a chuckle. Auron just lightly punched his friend's shoulder for that comment, but laughed about it too afterwards.

"Well now, since it already got late. We will head to the Pokemon Center here, rest and heal up there and then slowly but sure make our way to Dewford Town. Everyone fine with that plan?" Richter proposed.

"Yeah!" Everyone said in unison and they walked off towards the Pokemon Center.

Alexander got deported to the Medical Bay and the rest got a room together with Richter.

With that, soon, another day in Hoenn has ended.


	15. Chapter 15: A New Yet Old Threat

**Author's Note:** I don't know if you guys noticed but the frequency of my uploads has dropped again that is because university is very demanding for me right now, so I have decided to upload on Thursdays every week, hopefully...

Without furder ado here is the next chapter. I hope you all still enjoy this story and where it is heading. Please keep in mind to also leave me a review if possible so I can better myself!

* * *

 **A New yet Old Threat**

The bright and yellow sun was slowly rising above the horizon in Hoenn. It's 7:59 A.M. And our uncanny troop of friends are still sleeping.

One minute later, an alarm sounds. Prompting them all to slowly, but rather abruptly, wake up.

"Ughhh, what is this terrible sound?" The golden canine-like Pokemon asked with a grunt, "It's the alarm I set up so we won't sleep in too much," Richter promptly answered.

Autumn and Xavier were resting on the couch, but the alarm also made them wake up.

"Good morning, Autumn!" Xavier said after yawning, "Good morning to you too, Xavier," the Leafeon replied.

"Why didn't let us sleep a little longer though?" Auron asked his trainer with a rather saddened voice, "Well, because we need to have a sleeping schedule. If we always sleep and wake up a random times that won't help our daily routine. Having an organized life is very useful since you know what you wanna do when. And if you do it like me and have some buffer times in between events, then you can adjust yourself to things that might go unplanned or if surprises arise. That's how I can always stay so calm and collected," Richter explained to his furry friend.

Auron thought a little and processed what his friend just said and answered, "I guess you are right...Though I still would have preferred to sleep a little longer."

"Richter, what are we gonna do today?" The Eeveelution asked from the couch it was still sitting on, "First, we gotta eat breakfast. Secondly we gotta find a boat or other mean of transport to cross over to Dewford Town. Thirdly, our second Gym Badge is awaiting us there. I don't know if we will be able to do all this in one day's work, but we will try to do as much as possible," the young man elaborated so that everyone in the room heard him loud and clear, "Well, you guys can go ahead and take a shower. Especially you, Auron. You smell like horrible. Meanwhile I will go and pick up Alexander from the Medical Bay."

"Hey now!" The Lucario wanted to protest and rose up his right paw. Just then he noticed the terrible smell coming from his armpits. Even he had to cover his nostrils to not smell it anymore," Alright...I understand what you mean now..."

Feeling defeated, the Fighting type Pokemon started walking into the bathroom and getting ready to take a shower. Meanwhile the other two Pokemon, Autumn and Xavier, walked over to the TV remote and managed to turn the TV on.

A news channel appeared, a brown haired woman with a blue blazer and a red tie was talking about recent events happening in Hoenn.

"Breaking News! A large group of man appeared in Rustboro City! They claim they are part of an organisation called "Neo Terra" and claim they are here to create new and better world for humans and pokemon alike. Stay tuned, we will report right back after these short messages!"

"Neo...Terra? That does sound familiar to me. Xavier, do you know that group?" The Leafeon right next to the Ralts asked with a questioned look on her face, "Those...Those are the people that hunted down Richter's parents 20 years ago! They are the reason he was left at the temple to begin with!" Xavier answered, shocked by what has been revealed before him.

"Then we have to tell Richter about this. He needs to know they are back!" Autumn said hysterically.

"Yes, I agree. We gotta tell him when he comes back with Alexander, so that everyone knows what's up," Xavier agreed with Autumn's idea.

They patiently, yet nervously, waited for Richter's and Alexander's return to the room.

After about 20 minutes, Auron came out of the shower and looked a little surprised, while drying himself with a towel provided by the Pokemon Center, "Huh, Richter hasn't come back yet? He should be ba-" Just before he was able to finish his sentence, a loud and ear deafening sound was heard.

"What was that?" Autumn asked, startled by the sound, "I think it was some kind of explosion! It sounded like it came from in front of the Center," Xavier added.

The Lucario looked at both of his friends with a very serious look on his face. The other two already understood what he wanted to convey with that look and nodded in agreement. All three rushed out of the room to investigate the source of the sound.

After taking the elevator down to the first floor, where the entrance to the Pokemon Center is, they were greeted by a destroyed foyer. Fire was slowly spreading and smoke was covering the whole foyer.

"What is going on here?" Auron exclaimed.

Just then, something flew through the entrance. It caught Auron off guard and hit him, sending him flying backwards into the wall behind him.

After the smoke settled from the impact, Xavier and Autumn were able to see what Auron got hit by.

It was Alexander, the Grovyle!

"Ughh, he has quite a punch there..." Alexander said and rubbed his head a little.

"Alexander, I would appreciate it if you could get off me now..." The Lucario with golden fur requested, "and explaining what is going on here would be nice too."

"Auron! Xavier! Autumn! Thank goodness you guys are here, we need your help!" The Grass Type Pokemon said, excited about his friends being here with him, "There are some bad guys that want to cause trouble, so get ready to fight. Richter is also out there fighting already, we didn't have time to call you guys, so we hoped that you would come and look for us yourselves."

Alexander brushed himself off after standing up from his friend, "Thanks bro, you were a nice cushion to soften my landing," he said with a smirk on his face, "Haha, very funny...Whatever now, we gotta go help Richter!" Auron retorted back.

"Autumn, Xavier! You two try to stop the fire in here. We gotta stop it before it spreads to much and endangers others here. Talking about others, isn't anyone else curious about what is happening here? Where are the Nurse Joys or other trainers and Pokemon?" The furry Pokemon asked.

"I know why and can explain it, but we don't have time for that now. Now come Auron, we gotta kick some more ass!" The Grovyle said and sprinted out the foyer into the battlefield again.

The canine-like Pokemon ran after his friend, out of the Center.

Outside things were a lot clearer, since the smoke in the foyer obscured the vision to the outside.

Richter was standing in the middle of the street, surrounded by Pokemon and people dressed in purple clothes. On the back of the shirt of the purple dressed man and woman was a big "N" and "T".

The Pokemon surrounding our protagonist were a Lairon, Koffing, Arbok, Persian and a Mega-Medicham. The young man was not alone for too long though, shortly after the duo, Auron and Alexander arrived to his side.

"Was about time you two showed up. Not that I can't handle this myself, but it would end faster with a little help," Richter said a little arrogantly, but still with a smile on his face, "but jokes aside. Auron you go and handle that Lairon and Arbok. Alexander keep the Koffing and Persian busy until Auron comes to help you. I will deal with this Mega-Medicham."

"Haha, you think you can defeat me? A mega evolved Pokemon at that? You saw how I send your partner flying, didn't you?" The Medicham responded coldly, "How are you, a human, going to beat me?"

"Come and see for yourself!" Richter answered simply and entered a battle stance.

Meanwhile, Auron was giving the Arbok and Lairon a difficult time. His Immunity to Poison attacks and advantage against the Rock/Steel typing of the Lairon makes his life easier.

On the other side of the battlefield, Alexander was skillfully dodging attacks from the Persian and Koffing and retorting with his own attacks. The Persian tried to leap at him and use Scratch, but thanks for Alexander's incredible speed, he easily evaded the attack by crouching down. As the classy car Pokemon jumped over her opponent, the Grovyle used this chance to strike her. He used Leaf Blade and cut an "X" into her belly from below. This caused the Pokemon to crash land into the concrete, she was bleeding heavily and was not able to get up from that again. Only the Koffing remained.

Back to Auron, who was able to evade the attacks of his opponents too. The Arbok was basically useless against him, the Lucario used this fact to relentlessly attack the slow Lairon. After getting in some kicks and punches, it was time to finish the opponent off, Auron thought to himself. He cocked his right arm back and his paw began glowing red. He unleashed the Power-Up Punch attack at the Rock/Steel type Pokemon. The 4x effectiveness of the Fighting type move sent the Lairon flying away and hit a wall of a building close by and left a dent in the steel that was covering his face. Auron didn't waste any time and readied up a Aura Sphere in between his paws to completely finish the Lairon off. The Arbok saw what was about to happen to his fighting buddy and also didn't waste any time to retaliate. He tried slamming his tail onto his enemy. Auron sensed the Arbok's Aura quickly approaching him, he did a quick glance behind him and saw the huge tail of the snake Pokemon rapidly descending on him. He had to react quickly and did so, he swiftly jumped up, located where the Lairon was and unleashed the ball of Aura at his enemy's location while still in the air. The Aura Sphere was heading directly at the middle-evolution Pokemon and quickly hit its target, causing an explosion. The dust settled quickly and revealed the Lairon, completely knocked out from battle, now the only one left for Auron was the Arbok.

Back to Richter, who was in a very concentrated state, after all he was fighting the mega-evolved Pokemon. Right now he was only dodging and blocking every incoming hit, though it was pretty difficult to actually block the punches and kicks coming from the Medicham. Thanks to it's ability Pure Power, its attack's power gets doubled and every punch and kick thrown had huge momentum and power behind it. It has been a long time since Richter fought such a potent enemy, after all his last encounter with a mega Pokemon, Auroros, didn't go very well. That was exactly the reason he was giving his all, he didn't want to lose again. He wanted to show that he was able to hold himself off, he wanted to show that he can protect those who are close to him. The more he thought about his duty as a partner and trainer, as a friend and mentor, the more determined he was.

After about five minutes of dodging and blocking, he finally was able to understand the Medicham's moves. It mostly consisted of High Jump Kicks and Zen Headbutts with a Low Sweep here and there. The Pokemon was not fighting very strategically, it was using the fact that it was mega-evolved and didn't pay attention to what Richter was really doing. He was studying the Pokemon's movements and reactions and was preparing to counter soon enough, just looking out for a good moment to strike back. And soon enough there was a good opportunity. The Medicham was performing another High Jump Kick attack, Richter was just waiting for that to happen again. Our protagonist caught the right leg of his enemy in midair as it was aiming down on him and slammed him into the ground, so hard that it bounced off the street. Our hero didn't waste any time and focused his Aura in his right hand. The usually blue colored Aura, soon turned into a purple color and formed claw like appendages.

"Shadow Claw!" Richter exclaimed as he threw the Ghost-Type Punch at the Medicham as it was still in midair from the little bounce.

The Mega Pokemon was hit right on the head, causing it to be catapulted away, but it was able to regain its posture and stand up quickly.

"Ugh, you will regret doing that!" The Medicham yelled out an darted towards our skilled fighter. He leapt forward, with its head first, and was charging at Richter. A pinkish glow was emitting from its head as it was closing distance to Richter. It was obviously executing a Zen Headbutt and yet again our young protagonist was ready for this. He entered a defensive stance and was bracing himself for the incoming move. He crossed his arms in front of him and patiently awaited the attack, just seconds after it hit him directly where he was protecting himself. Richter was pushed back a couple feet but was able to hold his ground. Suddenly his whole body was engulfed in blue Aura, in fact it was bursting out like a giant blue flame around him. It grew larger and larger until the exiled one grabbed the Medicham by its arms and gave it a headbutt himself in return. It was executed with such a force that the head of it split open a little. It was knocked out the same instant, but was still alive thanks to its mega form.

Back to Alexander, who was struggling against the Koffing since it has a double type advantage against Alexander. The Grovyle was able to easily dodge all attacks coming at him and actually had a many opportunities to strike back, but his attacks were very ineffective. Right now he was just stalling until help could arrive.

Back to Auron, who was vigorously fighting the poisonous snake Pokemon, Arbok.

Both were ineffective against each other and didn't know how to finally end the fight. The serpentine Pokemon used another Slam attack with its giant tail. Right then the Lucario remembered what Richter did to the Medicham just a minute ago and tried to replicate it.

He grabbed it opponent's tail in midair with both of his paws and started spinning it over his head. Thanks to Auron's incredible strength it was a child's play to do this. After about 10 seconds of swirling his enemy above his head, he let go and launched it head first into a wall of the Pokemon Center. The strength it was thrown at, caused the Arbok to have a concussion and fall unconscious.

"Guess you don't always need type advantage to win a battle," the shiny Lucario mumbled to himself before sprinting off to help his scaly friend, Alexander.

He was saw his friend about to dodge another Sludge Bomb attack. Auron used Quick Attack to rapidly close the distance between him and the Koffing and slammed into it. Alexander quickly analyzed the situation and continued with his assault by following up with a Leaf Blade attack right after. The Koffing, hit by two moves, could not hold it's balance and was pushed away a couple of feet, but the frenzy of attacks didn't stop there. Alexander followed up further with a Bullet Seed attack and pushed him even further away and caused a little explosion. The Koffing was confused from that barrage of attacks and couldn't move.

"Come on now, Auron. Let's end this together!" Alexander shouted over to his furry comrade and started gathering green energy in between his hands. Meanwhile, Auron understood what his friend was trying to tell him and started gathering his own energy, his Aura, in between his two paws.

Shortly after they both yelled in unison, "Energy Ball! Aura Sphere!"

Both of the spherical moves rapidly flew towards their shared target and upon impact, caused a huge explosion. Even though both moves would be ineffective against the Koffing, the combined power of the two and it being exhausted from the fight in general, caused it to faint on the spot.

With the Koffing defeated, all of the opposing trainer's Pokemon are defeated and they called back their Pokemon into their respective Pokeballs.

The trainer of the Medicham from before starts clapping slowly, "Well done, very well done indeed. Though we did expect you to succeed, after all, 18 years of training in the temple should have prepared you for even worse situations," the female trainer said.

"Who are you and how do you know about my past?" Richter demanded to know.

"I am Jennifer, one of the admins in Neo Terra and we know all about you," she answered right back.

"Neo...Terra?! You were the group that were after my parents 20 years ago? What do you want? Why are you here?" The young man asked, clearly agitated and confused at the same time.

"So many questions, so little time. I am sorry, but we will have to continue this little chat of ours some time later. Bye!" the admin said with a cheeky smile and threw a little black ball on the ground. The small sphere suddenly exploded and released a giant black cloud around them. The cloud quickly dispersed and the Neo Terra group disappeared.

"Damnit! They escaped right before my eyes!" Richter said angrily, "Don't worry, I am sure we will see them again. Probably sooner rather than later," Auron put a paw on his partner's shoulder and reassured him. Richter just nodded in agreement, though with a stern look on his face.

"Hey, you didn't leave any for me!" A soothing male voice could be heard in the distance.

As Richter and his partners turned to their left, they could see a man approaching them. The man was wearing a suit with a blue tie and had turquoise blue hair.

"I wanted to leave you some too, but they were all too easy to defeat," our protagonist replied with a small chuckle, his mood rising a little again, "Oh right, you don't know him, Auron. This is Steven, Steven Stone. He is the CEO of the Stone Company here in Rustboro City, he is also the Pokemon League Champion in Hoenn," Richter explained to his shiny Lucario, "I met him when I went to the Medical Bay to get Alexander up and ready for the day. So we had a little chat there."

"I was there to pick up my dear Metagross. He was hurt from a fight I had before with these pack of grunts and now they dared to come back and show themselves again, even though I beat them last time. And their pompous announcement of their plans is just ridiculous. Creating a new and better world for humans and Pokemon alike? Even if they wanted to do that, how do they think they could accomplish that?" Steven said while holding his chin with one hand and a closed eyes, he was in deep thought.

"Richter, I think you gotta tell him...You know, about their plans 20 years ago and your parents involvement..." Alexander chimed in from the side, "With this now being public, it involves everyone and this Steven guy seems to be nice. I trust him."

Richter was clearly taken aback from Alexander's proposal, but deep within he knew that it is the right choice to tell Steven everything he knows, or better, what he also doesn't know.

The young man sighed deeply, but gathered up his courage, "Steven, I gotta talk to you about this group. I may or may not have an involuntary involvement with them. Is there a place we could talk, in private?"

Mr. Stone was surprised, but didn't lose his posture and simply answered back, "Sure, my office is around the corner. Gather up everything you need and let's meet up here again."

"Alright, let me just gather up my stuff from my room in the Center and we are ready to go," Richter simply stated and went back into the destroyed foyer.

There he met his other two team members, Autumn and Xavier, who where just about done putting off all the fire in the foyer.

"What was happening outside, we heard more and more explosion and were worried about you guys!" The Leafeon said, clearly concerned about her friends well being, "Come on Autumn! You may not know us that well, but let me assure you. We don't fall that easily!" Auron responded with a smile and a thumbs up to reassure the newest addition to the team.

"Now that we know that you are all well, would you mind telling us what was happening outside?" Xavier asked again.

"Everything will be answered shortly, Xavier. Just come and let's pick up all our stuff," our protagonist told his Ralts, "Thanks for handling everything here, you two. You did a great job!"

"Where is everyone else though? We assumed that there would have been other people trying to either help or run away from potential danger," Xavier asked further, "There was a Intercom message warning everyone in close proximity of this Pokemon Center to remain in their houses and everyone in the Center to remain in their respective room. Didn't you guys hear that?" The trainer explained.

"I guess that was when we listened to the news and Auron was still taking his shower. I guess we just overheard it and didn't pay enough attention," Autumn concluded, "Yeah that is probably right," Xavier agreed.

Everyone then just made their way up to the room they rested for the night.

Back in the room, Auron was just too eager to ask something, "Uh, Richter? I got a little question."

"Yes?" Richter asked back, "What happened when that Medicham attacked you with his Zen Headbutt attack? Not only did I feel, but physically see your Aura growing exponentially and then suddenly disperse again and then you just obliterated that Pokemon," Auron was very interested in Richter's explanation.

"Well that is pretty easy to explain. I used a combination of Endure and Counter. Usually Pokemon bulk up their body and prepare themselves for the attack, but I can't really do that. That is why I developed my own type of Endure and Counter move," Richter started his explanation, "I can concentrate and physically manifest my Aura as some kind of shield, endure the hit with that and then convert the energy of taken hit and return it with double the power. This technique is pretty unique and doesn't damage your body at all, unlike the typical Endure move, but at the same it time it takes a lot of mastery, patience and mental power to manifest your Aura in such a way. I also need to recover for at least a day to use that technique again. I only used it in the fight to end it more quickly so that I could question the group, but as you saw it was to no avail."

"Not to come off as rude, but how were you so confident in defeating it? It was mega evolved after all," Auron inquired further, "Well it was pretty clear to me that the Medicham doesn't really know how to completely utilize it's mega form and overall he was a rather bad fighter, nothing compared to Auroros..." Richter elaborated further, hanging his head low when he mentioned Auroros again.

"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that was not my intention," Auron apologized, "No, it's fine, it really is. I have to cope with it, I can't just forget and ignore my past," Auron's mentor reassured his partner Pokemon with a faint smile on his face. Richter then packed his stuff together and left the room together with Xavier and Autumn, leaving Alexander and Auron behind.

Auron was still a little displeased about reminding Richter of his rather unhappy past, but there wasn't much he could do to change it.

Alexander couldn't fail to see his friend's discomforting look on his face, so he approached him, "Hey there buddy, what's wrong?"

"Alex, do you think that Richter is really happy with us? Do you think we can make him happy again or rather, can anyone make him happy again? I know he does smile, he does seem happy. Especially back when he met everyone of us, he seemed genuinely happy. Yet I still think that his past is nagging on him, it keeps him from truly being happy again," Alexander's best friend explained, "Do you have any idea on how we could make him happy again? Like truly happy? He more or less literally saved all of our lives, we owe him so much, yet I feel like I haven't done anything in return. Make each other happy, help in times of need. That is what true friends do, that is what partner pokemon do, that is what a family does. You get what I am saying?"

The Grovyle was clearly surprised by what Auron just said, yet he couldn't disagree with him.

"Well...Not gonna lie, Auron, I do think so too. Now that you have said this, I can also clearly see that Richter seems, rather disconnected from emotion in general more or less. He was clearly happy when he met each one of us, he was clearly angry when he fought Damien and he had fun when we spend time together, but yeah, he does seem like he can't be truly content because of his past. Yet, can you really blame him? He lived 18 years in that temple, most of that time he spend with his friend back then. I think we can both agree that his life was not the best one, nor the happiest or most enjoyable one and if you take away the only thing that kept him in check, the only thing that kept him happy for all those years, then you can expect something like this to happen. He never really experienced a family before, he never experienced a proper childhood before and with that no true friendship except Auron and when he was brutally murdered in front of him, because they fought for their ideals, can you really blame him?" Alexander inquired.

Both sighed heavily before Auron spoke again, "I guess we can't expect him to move on so quickly, since it happened only two years ago. I think he still seeks revenge for what has happened."

"Yeah, I do think so too. But I agree on what you said, that it is our job to make him happy again, at least to do our best, we owe it to him, but at the same time, we shouldn't just try to make him happy because we owe him, rather because we, ourselves, want him to be happy," Alexander added.

Auron nodded in agreement, "Let's make this our life goal for now, make Richter truly happy again because we want him to be happy!" The Lucario said and stretched out one paw at Alexander, as if it was a deal they were making.

"Yes let's do that!" The Grass type Pokemon agreed and shook his friend's hand firmly.

Together they left the room and headed back down to the street where Richter and the rest of the crew were already waiting for them.

"What took you two so long?" the young man, now with dressed in his hood again, asked, "Uhh...We were looking if we forgot anything," Auron quickly replied.

"Well then, if everyone is ready, let's go to my office," Steven said and started walking ahead.

Our troop followed closely and soon enough they stood before a tall building.

"Here we are. The Stone Company, to which I am heir and CEO of. Please be my guests and enter," Steven said in a welcoming voice and a smile. He then led our team to his office where they were finally alone and in private to discuss the important matters.

Steven sat down on his executive chair at his desk, while Richter sat across him on a sofa. Richter's Pokemon were standing right beside him.

"Alright what did you want to talk about? I presume something important or else you wouldn't want to talk to me in private," Mr. Stone concluded.

"Please Mr. Stone-", "You can call me Steven," Steven interrupted Richter, "Please, Steven, we both know that you were not really there to get your Metagross back. I heard that you were looking for me in the first place," Richter started off.

Steven couldn't do much but chuckle at that remark, "Well you are not wrong, I was looking for the one that survived through the Petalburg Woods and it appears that that was you. Now I am sure you know what my next question is going to be, right?"

"How did I survive and what exactly did I see there?" The hooded man on the sofa answered swiftly, of course knowing what Steven was about to ask, "Well, I was warned to not enter the Woods because of the raging war between the Zangoose and Seviper, but after I was told that innocent Pokemon are suffering under that mindless war, I couldn't just stand back and do nothing. When I entered I tried to reason with the respective leaders, but to no avail. So I took matters into my own hands."

"We have authorities that were assigned to deal with that, you really didn't need to intervene there. You only put yourself and your Pokemon in danger, entering that area," Steven responded to Richter's little story, but he still wasn't fully convinced, "So nothing else happened either? Just that little war between the two Pokemon you handled?" Steven inquired further, his facial expression turning curious and agitated at the same time.

Richter looked Steven straight into the eyes, in them he could see a sincere man, one that cares for his people, for the Pokemon. One that seeks out the truth, no matter how difficult or ugly it may become. Our hooded figure was quite intrigued by those characteristics he could read and decided that it may be time to tell him the whole truth.

"Well, I guess there are some details that I didn't mention," Richter started off his further elaboration on what has happened in the Woods, "I thought so, since the discovered corpses suggest a bit more than a Pokemon fight," Steven added onto Richter's confession.

After a long sigh from our hooded fellow, he started to tell Steven everything that happened in the Petalburg Woods. Throughout the story, the business man changed facial expressions several times. Ranging from shock, to surprised, to disgust and at the end to relief.

"That's...That's terrible. I didn't know what was going on, right in front of my own nose. Damian, you said? That was the guy the Elite 4 send to deal with this matter in the first place. I have difficulties believing what you just said, yet it makes perfect sense looking at what probably happened there. *sigh* Well still thank you for your honesty. I will see that this will be known to the Elite 4," Steven simply said, clearly agitated about what apparently happened.

"If you do so, be sure to NOT mention my name. I am already well known to people that I rather dislike...," Richter made sure that Steven heard what he said, "I see...Very well, that is the least I could do for your help. Actually there is another thing I could do for you," Steven responded with a smirk," What would that be?" Richter retorted with a raised eyebrow, "I know that you recently acquired your first Gym Badge. So first of all, congratulations! And second of all, I know you want to head to Dewford Town now, but you would need method of crossing the sea. As a thank you for helping out in the Woods as well as here against Team Neo Terra, I want you take my private yacht over there. It is waiting at Route 104, at the seaside, right before you enter Petalburg Woods. An experienced captain will drive you through the rough seas over to Dewford Town," Steven elaborated further on what else he might be able to do for Richter and his team.

"Well that does sound very inviting and useful too," Richter replied and thought about the proposal for a second, "Alright then, I simply can't refuse such a convenient offer. Me and my team will head there now then."

"Perfect! Glad I was able to help you somehow in return for your services," the CEO of the Stone company said happily with a simple smile on his face.

Steven then led them out of the building and showed them the way back to Route 104.

"Don't worry, me and my team made sure that the Woods are secure now. You can safely traverse through it," the light blue haired man told the uncanny team.

Richter gave him a friendly nod and started going towards the Woods.

When they were back in the Woods, bad memories came up again. After all, the events that transpired here are not that far in the past.

"Ugh, still have bad memories about this place," Autumn said with a horrified expression on her face, "Ah, don't worry anymore Autumn. Those bad times are finally over," Xavier tried to comfort his friend and gave her a little pad on the back, "Thanks Xavier, I'll try to not think about it too much," the Leafeon replied with a warm smile.

Our little troop slowly but surely made their way through the Woods and managed to get out at the other side. Back on Route 104, where they had their little swimming session, and could already see the little yacht, ready to depart. Shortly after a rather small, old man left the yacht and headed towards our protagonist.

"Well hello there young man. You must be the person I am suppose to ferry over to Dewford Town, correct?" The old man said with a smile, "Indeed, Mr. Stone send us over here. So I suppose you are the captain of his yacht?" Richter questioned, "Correct! Now please follow me into the ship, we will depart shortly, so we can get there in time," the captain explained.

Our troop of friends headed into the ship and and lay down in their respective cabins. Alexander and Auron had their own Cabin, while Richter shared his with Xavier and Autumn since they are rather small.

Richter and his teammates decided to take a little nap, because they were tired from all the excitement that happened shortly before. They hoped that they would be in Dewford Town when they woke up again.


	16. Chapter 16: Rough Seas

**Rough Seas**

After a "short" power nap of about three hours, our young protagonist finally awoke and orientated himself in his small cabin. On his left was Autumn, lying close to him. Same for Xavier who was lying on Richter's right. They looked so peaceful and cute, just sleeping there.

He needed to stand up now, but he didn't wan to disturb them, they deserved their rest after they helped out with the incident in front of the Pokemon Center.

He had to be quick yet careful at the same time to get out of the bed without waking them up.

Richter slowly moved his feet close to him and pulled them out from under the blanket. He then heaved them over to his left side, over Autumn's body, and jumped off the bed. The sudden movement of the bed startled the two Pokemon a little, but they didn't wake up.

Happy that his friends didn't wake up from this, Richter quietly exited the room.

On his way up to the bridge, where the captain was, Richter decided to check after his other two Pokemon. First cabin he passed by was Auron's. He decided to take a peek inside to see what he was up to.

Inside he saw his shiny Lucario still lying in his bed with the blanket on top of him and lying on his left. Peacefully continuing to sleep too.

Next up was Alexander's cabin. Just like with Auron's cabin, Richter decided to take a quick look inside to see what his Grass Starter was doing. When he opened the door a little to see what was inside, he was unable to see his green friend in bed. He took the initiative and fully opened the door to the cabin. To his surprise, no one was to be found in the cabin. Richter got a little worried, so he decided to call out his friend, "Hey Alexander! Are you in here?"

"Huh? Is that you Richter? I am in the shower right now, I will be out in a minute!" A familiar voice could be heard from the bathroom in the cabin.

Richter moved closer to the door and answered back, "Alright, when you get out you can come meet me at the bridge!", "Alright, I'll do that!" Alexander quickly responded.

Our young protagonist left the room and headed out to the bridge.

After a minute of walking through the yacht, Richter found the bridge and saw the old man steering the big wooden wheel of the ship.

"Hey there old man, may I ask for your name? I don't want to refer to you as the captain or old man all the time. Feels a little rude to me," Richter asked politely, "Me? Just call me Mr. Briney, that's how everyone calls me!" He happily responded.

"Alright Mr. Briney, how much longer until we reach Dewford Town?" Richter inquired, "Well if we keep up this pace, we should be there in about an hour," the captain answered.

Steps could be heard from behind Richter and the captain. As Richter turned around to look who was coming, it turned out to be Alexander.

"Ah, here you guys are!" The Grovyle greeted the two, "About time you showed up too. This is Mr. Briney, the captain," Richter explained.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Briney!" Alexander said with a smile and stretched out one of his claws to initiate a handshake, "This is Alexander, my Grovyle!" Alexander's trainer told the captain.

"Oh what a polite fellow you have there!" Old man Briney said and shook Alexander's claw.

"Right! People still can't understand me, I forgot!" The Grass starter mumbled to himself in embarrassment, but shortly after let out a light chuckle.

"I see that you have raised your Pokemon well. I am sure you will make it real far in the league, heck you may be the next champion for all I know!" Briney declared, "Well I sure hope you are right, because that is what I am aiming for. Heading to Dewford Town to claim my second Gym Badge!" The young adventurer proudly announced.

Right then a Wingull started to land next to Mr. Briney and said, "Danger ahead! A Gyarados is rampaging ahead!"

"Huh? What is wrong Peeko, tell me!" The captain crouched down to the Wingull and asked curiously what it wanted to convey.

"Danger! Danger! Angry Gyarados ahead!" It cried out, it's face clearly stressed out.

"Hmm, you look a little agitated. Is danger ahead, or something bad?" The old man implore his Wingull.

Peeko nodded furiously to convey that Mr. Briney understood correctly.

Richter just stood there and observed the situation, he didn't want to giveaway that he could understand Pokemon. Not everyone should know about that little fact of his, especially now that he is a wanted man.

"Well alright then, let's take a de-" Before the Old Man Briney was able to finish his sentence, something shook the ship heavily, "What was that?"

Richter quickly hurried outside and looked over to the sea to hopefully able to spot what caused that. As he looked down into the sea, he was able to make out a huge shadow underneath the ship.

"Is...Is that the Gyarados the Wingull was trying to warn us about?" Richter muttered to himself, "I gotta warn the rest!"

Our protagonist quickly rushed back down the ship to go and call the rest of his group and to prepare for a possible fight.

He managed to get to Auron's cabin, slammed open the door and saw his Lucario still sleeping, "Hey Auron! Time to wake up, we are under attack!" Richter yelled. Right then the ship took another hit and shook even more than last time.

This caused Auron's eyes to shot up and he quickly rose to his feet.

"What is going on?" he questioned, "We are being attacked by an unknown enemy, presumably a Gyarados! Quickly run up and help the captain and Alexander, they might be in trouble!" Richter quickly explained.

Auron simply nodded and rushed out of the room to help his friend and the captain. Meanwhile Richter hurried over back to this cabin where Autumn and Xavier should be. As he opened the door to the cabin, he was greeted by his Ralts and Leafeon already on their feet.

"Richter, what is going on? Is there a problem?" The Leafeon asked a little scared.

"Yes we are very likely under attack right now. I need both of you to follow me!" Richter responded, he also looked a little worried.

As the trio arrived back on top, they saw Auron and Alexander already fighting the perpetrator. Right then Richter didn't want to believe his eyes. The enemy was beyond what he had imagined could be.

He was big, blue and black with a giant gaping mouth. It was serpentine in stature and did not look very happy.

It was a Mega-Gyarados!

"What in the world is that!?" Briney exclaimed loudly, clearly scared about his and his Pokemon's life, "Quickly Peeko, come to me!"

The Wingull quickly covered next to his master and quivered in fear.

"Don't worry we will handle this!" A gallant and familiar voice could be heard from the deck of the ship. The source of the voice was, of course, Richter. Behind him Auron, Xavier and Autumn, ready to battle the mighty beast before them.

"Alright guys, this should hopefully be a quick and easy fight. Mega-Gyarados has Water/Dark as his typing that means he is vulnerable to many of us," Richter started explaining the situation and commanding the next moves for his partners, "Auron and Alexander, use Aura Sphere and Energy Ball respectively! Autumn use Razor Leaf and aim for its eyes! Xavier, you are in a big disadvantage here, so try to stay low and protect Mr. Briney from possible debris with your psychic abilities!"

"But...Alright I'll do that," the Ralts protested at first but then gave in to Richter's order.

Meanwhile Alexander and Auron were already barraging the enemy with their attacks, while Autumn tried to accurately hit the Gyarados' weak spots, mainly his eyes.

Richter decided not to join the fight himself, he didn't want to draw more attention than necessary to himself, especially so early in his adventure as well because Neo Terra is probably tracking down all his steps. Though he really wanted to help his team again.

The Mega-Gyarados was taking a heavy beating, those type disadvantages were really not working out for him, but that didn't stop it from attacking. It tried to use Crunch several times on the two leading attackers, Auron and Alexander, but to no avail. The two friends were just too agile and small compared to the giant serpentine Pokemon they were facing.

This didn't help the mood of the Gyarados though, it looked pretty agitated by the fact that it wasn't dealing any damage. So it decided to use something more...potent in terms of attack.

It started gathering massive amounts of water in its mouth and soon it looked like it was going to blast it at Auron, by the looks of it.

Just before it hit Auron with that massive load, "Nooooo!" Alexander yelled and pushed his furry friend aside and swiftly braced itself for the immense impact of the Hydro Pump attack. The water type attack did hurt a lot even though it was not very effective against the grass type Pokemon, but that wasn't the worst of it. The enormous power of the attack combined with the power of the mega evolved Pokemon pushed Alexander through the deck down to the cabin area. A big hole was created on the deck and at the bottom of it Alexander was lying there, unconscious from the hit he tanked.

"Damnit Alex! You didn't have to do that!" Auron exclaimed and lost his focus on the fight at hand.

The giant opponent didn't waste any time to continue it's barrage of attacks. Now it just wanted to finish the fight and be done with it. The Gyarados started gathering energy before its giant gaping mouth, it was readying a Hyper Beam attack.

"Stop hurting my friends!" Autumn screamed at the top of her lungs. She was not going to let that attack go through. Autumn looked very fierce and she threw one attack after another at her assailant. When she noticed that the Razor Leaf attacks weren't as effective as she hoped, she had to ago a little further.

"Seed Bomb!" She loudly exclaimed and started shooting multiple small seeds out of her mouth. On contact with the atrocious Pokemon, the seeds started exploding, deteriorating it. This caused the Gyarados to shoot the Hyper Beam in the air because it couldn't focus on the ship from the attack.

Meanwhile, Richter ran down the stairs back down where the cabins are to look after Alexander, "Auron, you and Autumn continue to-", "I am not done yet!" A voice echoed from below the ship.

Suddenly a green flash could be seen and it positioned itself in front of the sun.

It was a Sceptile, but not just any Sceptile, it was Alexander!

The sun's rays made his green scales shine bright, like emeralds in the sky. His long tail was full of leaves which were flowing along with the wind. His smile was even cockier than before.

"Energy Ball!" He exclaimed and shot a green ball full of energy at the Gyarados, who was still a little startled by Autumn's Seed Bomb attack from before. Alexander's attack caused a big explosion on contact with the serpentine looking Pokemon and he continued his attack. He followed it up with a Leaf Blade right into his enemy's dome, slicing down it's face. When it his the Gyarados' eye, it flinched and a high amount of blood spilled out from the wound. Followed up was an enormous scream from it, indicating that that attack did indeed hurt a lot. After flailing around for a bit, it dove down back into the sea and swum away swiftly, leaving behind a trail of blood behind him. Right behind that blood trail, a swarm of Sharpedos could be seen, following it. Shortly after, the Sharpedos caught up to the Gyarados and started ripping it apart, bit by bit. The Gyarados was severely weakened and was just not able to defend himself from his predators anymore, he knew that this was the end of him. Fin after fin, scale after scale, flesh after flesh was quickly removed from the mega evolved Pokemon. At the end of the blood trail, a huge puddle of blood erupted with several parts of flesh and intestines of that atrocious Pokemon swimming on the surface of the water. The Sharpedos were fighting each other for the best parts of the Gyarados.

"Well look who has reached its final evolution," Richter said, relieved that the fight was finally over and that his partner has evolved yet again.

He doubled in size, now being as tall as Richter and grew a long tail. He looked even more fearsome than before.

"Is...Is it over?" An old sounding voice could be heard from the speakers of the ship. Mr. Briney tried to talk to our troop and ask if the battle was finally over.

"Yes Mr. Briney, we are save now! Can the ship still reach Dewford Town though?" Richter yelled towards the bridge to make sure the captain could hear him.

"It is heavily damaged, but the propellers seem fine, it should be able to reach save haven in Dewford Town, but then I will have to have it repaired there," the captain responded and shortly after the ship began to move again.

Land could be seen in the distance, this made our protagonist sigh in relief, knowing that they will reach their destination soon. Indeed, after about another hour or so, the ship entered the small harbour in Dewford Town. Safe and sound, our hero and his team exited the ship with their belongings and set food on the hot sand of the beach.

"Finally! Land!" Alexander fell on his knees and kissed the beach, which in retrospective was not his best idea, "Bleh! Pfui!" He exclaimed and spit out the sand that entered his mouth.

"You didn't like our little sea journey, Alex?" Auron asked mockingly, "Yeah, I am not a big fan of going by ship. It shakes too much and you just experienced what could happen if you are not ready to fight," the Sceptile retorted, "Fair enough," was the only response Auron gave.

"Well no matter what happened, I am very proud of how you all reacted in this situation. Though your act of bravery and friendship was very nice and appreciated, but also very dangerous at the same time," Richter said while facing towards Alexander, "I am sorry to say this, but I think I did the right thing. My type advantage ensured that I would survive the hit, at least that was my thought process," the big reptile retorted while rubbing the back of his head, realizing that it might not have been his best idea.

" *sigh* I know, I know. You just wanted to help your friend and all, but next time, try to be more resourceful. We don't want to lose you as much as anyone else here, no need to play the hero if you don't need to," Richter advised his Pokemon, "I still appreciate your heroic deed, you might really have saved my life there," the Lucario assured his friend with a little pat on his right shoulder. This made Alexander smile again vividly, knowing that his friend appreciated his action.

"You shouldn't be so harsh on Alex, he did that to help me. You know that too!" Auron talked back to Richter in a rather disapproving tone.

Richter was a little surprised by the tone Auron was using to talk back to him. Richter was also getting enraged, this was not the way Richter taught Auron to talk to him, or rather to talk to anyone really. Our protagonist was just about to rant, when it hit him. This is almost exactly like the incident two years ago, when Auron and Richter talked back to Auroros, when they disagreed with his methods and plans, when they disobeyed him, but now the Roles were reversed. This time Auron and Alexander were holding on together against Richter, who just scolded them. He could see himself and Auron in eyes of the two before him. Remembering the past like that made Richter tear up.

"I am...Sorry, you are right. I was wrong to react that harshly. I guess I just didn't want anyone to get hurt, but I suppose that that will happen sometime sooner or later. I think we all suffered a lot and enough already, some more than others, yes, but that does not mean that we should suffer anymore than necessary," the hooded young man responded to his partners, truly sorry for his misguided reaction.

"Look, Richter, I know exactly what you mean and I am honored to journey along with someone that thinks this way, but we chose to follow you from our own free will and we choose to stay with you for the exact same reason. You are an incredible human being. You are kind, you are strong and you do not waver from what you believe is right and wrong. I think everyone here can agree that you are more of an parent, a father figure, for us than a real trainer. Yet because of that exact reason, you give us hope for the future, you are teaching us that the past doesn't matter for what can happen in the future, but that the past has formed us to who and what we are today. We are ready to not only take a hit or two for us, but for the one that made our future bright and hopeful again. We are ready to suffer for what we believe in, like you did before us!" Xavier, the little Ralts, said with such a determination in his voice that it amazed everyone, "You have fought for so many years, for yourself and others. Now let us fight for ourselves and others too, let us fight for our ideals, let us fight for you!"

Everyone was completely shocked by what Xavier just said, nobody was expecting him to raise his voice like that and clearly speak his mind. There was a solid moment of silence for a couple of seconds before someone broke the silence.

"Well then...It seems that I was the one in the dark and not knowing what you all were thinking, or rather, I thought I knew exactly what you were thinking and as it turns out, I am wrong. Who am I to stand in your way, who am I to question your resolve, who am I to stop you from believing in what you believe is true and right? I...I am just a lost boy trying to find his place in this world, in this world I was thrown into. I believe that everything happens for a reason, everything has its purpose in this world and I am just trying to find out the purpose I am suppose to fulfill... I thought that maybe trying to be champion of the region, going on journeys to collect as many badges as possible together with my friend Auron back then, I thought that was my purpose, yet after he died I just didn't feel the same. Since that day I feel empty inside. I thought that after meeting Auron here in the woods and being his, well, foster father. I thought that would give me back my purpose, my goal in life of journeying through the lands and just experiencing life as it comes, but apparently I was wrong," Richter uttered, trying to hold back his tears as much as possible, though not being very successful at that.

"Richter, look. I am the newest member of this team and I am very thankful for taking me in after that ...chaos in the Petalburg Woods. I don't know your purpose either and I believe that neither of us really do, but I seem to know my purpose now. I will try my best to find out what your purpose is and help you reach it!" Autumn, the Leafeon, spoke to her trainer.

"I know exactly how you feel Richter. You know my story, my mom died when I was born and soon after my dad followed. Without him I was lost, he was the guide in my life, he was the one I could always rely on, always ask stuff. If you hadn't showed up back then, not only would I be not standing here, but even if I did survive, I would not have known what to do anymore. After all I was still young and quite frankly I probably still am inexperienced in the matters of life. Yet you came and gave my life purpose, you came and promised to be my guide in life, promised to stay with me and never leave me. I agree with Autumn here, my purpose now is to stay with you and help you find your true purpose in life!" Auron explained his point of view.

"I was stuck with Professor Birch for a very long time, longer than anyone really. My purpose was already given to me, I was suppose to be a starter Pokemon, at least that is what they called us, but only now I really understand what we are suppose to be. We are given out to be life companions of the trainer. Without a trainer we just stay and don't have any purpose or at least we can't fulfill our given purpose and a trainer without us is not a trainer to begin with. We guide each other to our goals, we are both parts of a whole. And this is how I feel about you and me and everyone else here, we are part of something bigger, we are part of your purpose and together, we will find out what exactly it is and fulfill it, together!" Alexander added on top.

All four Pokemon gathered together as a group and stood before their leader, their role model, smiling at him brightly, showing compassion. Richter just didn't know how to react, it has been too long since anyone really seemed to care for him. He broke down on all fours, crying out loud. He felt so weak at this moment, he never wanted to show weakness again, yet there was nothing he could do now but cry. Thankfully no one else was at the beach right now to see him like this, though he actually could not have cared less if anyone else saw him like this. He was going through a rollercoaster of emotions. He was happy that his friends cared this much about him, he was sad that he couldn't share this moment with his old friend Auron and he was angry. He was angry at himself, angry that he just felt so weak. This weakness, this helplessness, reminded him back to the fateful day he lost his best companion, his soul mate.

The others were shocked too by this sudden display of emotion, sadness to be precise, by their leader. They have seen him cry and laugh at times, but this was the first time they saw him so...down.

"Hey there, it's OK. We are here for you, you don't need to worry about anything anymore," Auron tried to comfort Richter. He crouched down next to him and put his right paw around Richter's shoulder. Shortly after Alexander and the rest followed and each one of them embraced their leader in a big group hug.

They just stood there for a solid minute before the big guy was able to talk again, "Alright guys, I am fine. You can let go of me now, I composed myself again. I am sorry if I made you worry, that was not my intention. I don't even know what really happened to me there, I guess I just kinda broke down for a second or two. Let's...Let's just go to a Pokemon Center now and get you guys checked up, that last fight surely left you with some bruises."

As Richter finished talking, he started standing up again and regained his composure.

"Are you sure you are fine?" Autumn asked to make sure her friend really is fine, "Yeah don't you worry too much about me. Everything's fine now again, trust me," Richter reassured his Leafeon with a smile.

The Eeveelution wasn't quite convinced by that, but decided to not question Richter further. After all she didn't want to make him feel worse than right there by questioning too much.

After everyone was back up on their respective feet, Richter tried to leave towards the city, but not before a familiar voice made him stop.

"Hey wait! I got something for you!" Old man Briney's voice could be heard from a distance. As our protagonist turned into the direction the voice could be heard from, he was the captain quickly approaching him and his team.

"Here! This is a little thank you gift from Mr. Stone for your help in Rustboro City, I don't quite know what you did, but if he says you deserve it, I sure am not gonna question him," Briney said as he presented Richter a small, green, pearl-like looking crystal attached to a on a string to make it a necklace, "This is a mega stone called 'Sceptilite'. If you get a Key Stone, you should be able to mega evolve your Sceptile there."

"Thank you very much , but I have another question then. Where would I get a Key Stone?" Richter asked the old man, "Mr. Stone told me that you two would meet soon enough again and that he will be honored to present you said Key Stone," the captain explained.

Richter was still confused on why Steven was doing this in the first place and why now? Why didn't he give him the Sceptilite back when they were in his office or before they departed? And why is he still waiting on giving him the Key Stone? Many questions to which Richter does not know the answer to, but he decided to just go along with it for the moment.

"Alright, thanks for the heads up. Maybe we'll see each other again some time, but for now, I gotta go and give my friends here a little rest. That fight surely made them tired," the man with the coat said. To which the captain just agreed and left to head back to the yacht.

Our protagonist turned towards his Grass Starter Pokemon and spoke softly to it, "I want you to hold on to this, after all it is meant for you," he said as he held out the Sceptilite in front of Alexander, "You sure about this," the reptile like Pokemon asked back to which Richter only nodded to confirm his decision. Alexander took the necklace with the mega stone and put it around his neck. The sun's rays really made the stone shine bright, almost as bright as Alexander's smile when he put it on, "Thank you for entrusting me with this important item, I really appreciate your trust in me. I will not make you regret your decision."

"I am sure I won't regret it," the hooded master reassured his partner, "Now then, let's get a move on. We'll get you guys fixed up in the Center, reserve a room for us and then go eat something here, I am kinda starving."

With that said, our group starting to move up towards the town and were on the lookout for the Pokemon Center. Surely enough, they found the iconic building soon and entered it together. Yet again a Nurse Joy greeted them with a bright smile on her face, "Good day Sir, how may I help you?"

"I need my Pokemon treated here, they were in a rough fight recently," Richter simply explained, "Oh and we need a room for 3 for later this night, please."

"Of course Sir! Your Pokemon can go through this backdoor into the Medical Bay, there one of my colleagues will be awaiting them and initiate necessary treatment. Meanwhile, could you please give me your Trainer Card and ID so I can also reserve the necessary room for your overnight stay," The nurse kindly said. Richter didn't fail to notice the extravagant choice of words and complex sentence structures compared to former Nurse Joys, "I guess every Nurse Joy is kind of different from the other," Richter muttered to himself so that no one else heard it.

However, our hero gave his Trainer Card with the ID on it over to the Joy and send his Pokemon to the Medical Bay.

"Alright Sir, everything should be set up now. Here is your Keycard for your room, you can also how it to my colleague on the Medical Bay to pick up your Pokemon. Have a nice day!" Joy explained with a smile again.

Richter happily accepted the Keycard and put it into one of his pockets of his coat, then he made his way out of the Center to go look for someplace to eat. As he was outside, he noticed that the town is very, very small. It only consists of 5 buildings, the Pokemon Center, the Gym, the Town Hall and 2 more buildings. Richter was a little confused on where to find something to eat, he could just share the sandwiches that his friends made back in Rustboro City, but he wanted to use them on the road and not in the town. He turned back into the Pokemon Center to ask the Nurse Joy for directions.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy, but where here can I get something to eat, for me and my Pokemon?" He asked politely, "Everyday a fishingcutter arrives here at Dewford's port with freshly caught Magikarps and Feebas. There our citizens buy their food supplies. They not only bring fresh fish, but also vegetables, dairy products and more. If you are looking for something like a restaurant, I am sorry to say this but we do not have something like this here. Everyone makes their own food here. If you cannot wait for the cutter to arrive in about..uhhhh...an hour, you can always go ahead and hunt your own food," Joy explained in detail.

The hooded figure was a little confused by this, but didn't think too much into it. He decided to go with the town's customs and wait for the fishcutter to arrive. The hour went by fast as Richter was talking with the citizens about the city's customs and the gym. He learned valuable information about the gym leader. His name is Brawly and he is leader of the fighting-type gym here in Dewford Town and you gotta defeat the Gym Trainers to progress towards him.

A ship could be seen in the distance, slowly yet surely arriving at the Dewford Harbour. Richter also started walking towards the harbour to get what he needed as fast as possible, his friends were probably already healed up by now.

"Excuse me Sir, but could I get two Feebas and two Magikarps please?" He asked a rugged old man standing on the ship, "Of course kind Sir, here you go!" he responded and handed over the requested Pokemon, "That would be 250 Pokedollars per Pokemon, so the total is 1000 Pokedollars, please!"

"Of course, here you go," the young man said and gave the man the promised amount of money to pay for the food.

He then went back to the beach. There he collected some stranded pieces of wood, put them all together in fireplace kind of fashion and ignited them with a Fire Punch. There were no people on the beach right now either, because it was getting late and everyone else was too focused on the fishcutter to get their food supplies ramped up again. While the fire was getting high and mighty, Richter was desclaling, gutting and filleting the Margikarps and Feebas. All this reminded him back a couple years ago, where he would camp out with Auron and hunt their own food. They would sit together around the fire and just talk for hours without end, eat their hunted food together and just lie down next to each other under the starlight and fall asleep. Richter did miss those old and simple times, but at the same time he was fed up with being stuck in his past. He finally wanted to move on, he had new friends that all care for him. Auron would not want him to linger in past any longer, he would want him to finally move on too. Staying in the past would go against the last will of his deceased friend. After reminiscing over old times, he finally managed to cook those Pokemon properly. After about twenty minutes the meat was cooked to perfection and Richter slowly put everything in the little boxes he has in his backpack. Now he decided to head back to the Pokemon Center, "I am sure they are all starving to death by now," he thought to himself.

Back at the Pokemon Center, he head through the door leading to the Medical Bay and was instantly greeted by the other Nurse Joy, "Hello Sir, how may I help you?"

"I just want to know if my Pokemon are fine. Here is my Keycard to my room, the other Nurse Joy said I could just give you this to check if everything is alright," Richter explained to the lady.

"That is correct, just give me second to figure out which are your Pokemon and what their status are respectively," the pink haired woman answered, "Alright, it says you have given us a Lucario, shiny one to be exact, a Sceptile, a Ralts and a Leafeon. Is that correct?"

"Yes that is correct, so how are they doing?" Richter inquired further, "Oh they are fine by now. You can go down the hallway to my right here and check the rooms 2 and 3. In 2 your Ralts and Leafeon reside, in 3 your Lucario and Sceptile are waiting for you," she happily responded.

Richter nodded with a smile and began walking down the hallway to room 2 first. As he entered he could see Xavier and Autumn, each on a small bed.

"Hey there, you two. How you doing?" Their trainer asked them with a smile to convey that he is relieved that his friends are fine, "We are fine thanks for asking! But...We are kinda hungry..." Autumn answered a little embarrassed, her blushing didn't help conceal her embarrassment.

"Haha, I know you guys would be starving, that is why I already prepared dinner for all of us. We gotta go to the next room though, Auron and Alexander are waiting there for us and I am sure they are both hungry to," Richter said as he removed the hood to fully reveal his face again. He thought it was kinda rude to let the hood on when he talked to his friends. The two Pokemon jumped down from their beds and positioned themselves next to Richter. Together they left the room and entered the next one.

"Hey there best buddies, what are you two doing?" The young man asked his partners, who were lying down in their respective beds and just conversing with each other.

"Oh hey there Richter, nice to see you again! Xavier and Autumn, how are you two doing too?" Auron asked with a smile. It seemed like he was doing fine, "Nice to see you too Auron. I see you two seem to be fine!" Richter replied "We are fine too," Xavier said.

"Well then, it is time to feast!" Richter announced as he pulled out the boxes filled with the Magikarp and Feebas meat, "I cooked up some fish for you all!"

They all exclaimed in excitement, "YAY!"

Richter distributed the little plastic boxes to everyone, though Xavier and Autumn share one as they don't eat as much as everyone else.

Happily they ate their dinner and enjoyed the time they spent together.

"Alright guys, I am getting a little tired and I bet you are too. So I would suggest that we move into our room and rest for the day," the young man proposed to his teammates.

"Sounds like a great plan to me, I am also very tired," the Sceptile agreed on the suggested plan. Everyone else also nodded in agreement.

Richter quickly cleaned out the boxes with the sink in the room and put them back into his backpack. They all swiftly left the Medical Bay and entered their designated room for them to spend the night in.

Auron, Alexander and Richter all got their own bed while Autumn and Xavier share the couch as it is big enough for the both of them.

Our main protagonist disrobed himself and slipped right into bed. His Pokemon too climbed into their respective beds and soon everyone was already asleep.

And thus another day in Hoenn comes to an end.


	17. Chapter 17: An Omen?

**Author's Note:** Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual, I have been buried under work for university (And playing FF15 didn't really help alleviate the workload, hehe)

I still hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter too. Don't forget to read & review, I want to better myself!

* * *

 **An Omen?**

"So you dare to come back after these years? To do what? To exact revenge? HA! Don't make me laugh. You couldn't defeat me last time, how do you imagine it turning out this time?" Auroros asked, agitated seeing Richter's face again.

"This time I have more help and I didn't waste those years as an outcast to sit back and relax! I trained, I trained more than ever before and I am ready to face you again!" Richter proclaimed proudly.

"That is true, we are here to help him too. He won't have to face you alone, he won't have to face any problem alone anymore!" Auron snorted at the Mega Lucario before him. The rest of his teammates were standing right behind him. Alexander, Autumn, Auron and Xavier, all of them were behind Richter, ready to fight for their mutual friend.

Auroros looked even more disgusted than before, seeing that Richter found himself more "friends" as he calls them. He jumped down from his platform he was standing on and was ready to face the Richter and his friends.

"Prepare to die! All of you!" The leader of the Lucario clan screamed and started running towards the weakest link of the team, Xavier.

He used Extreme Speed to reach his target as fast as possible, not even Richter was able to react that quickly and Auroros just sped past him and the rest. Xavier was in utter shock as Auroros was standing right before him. Those deep red glowing eyes, that maniacal look on his face, the teeth he gritted, it definitely was a sight nobody would want to see as an enemy. Xavier just stood there, frozen by fear.

"You should not have come here, this is no place for kids like you. Let me send you to the land of dreams..." The common enemy said slowly and menacingly.

Suddenly Xavier felt immense pain in his stomach and was sent flying away. Auroros' Bullet Punch attack came so fast that no one could even begin to notice it happening. Xavier was hit by such an impact that not only his internal organs suffered a lot of damage, but also when he hit a boulder it just snapped his spine, rendering the little Ralts as dead.

"He should count himself as the lucky one, it was a rather quick death. After all I hate seeing children suffer," The Mega Lucario told the others, who have yet to register what happened in a matter of seconds.

"You...You bastard!" Alexander cried out, with tears flowing down his cheeks. He ran at Auroros at his max speed and was leading with a Leaf Blade, "DIE!"

The enemy was just smirking at that laughable attack and waited for the attack to hit. Just before the Leaf Blade connected with Auroros face, the Mega Lucario stopped it with his right paw. He bend the arm down and smashed his left paw into the area where Alexander's elbow would be and broke the Sceptile's right arm and quickly turned to the other arm and did the same.

"ARRGGGGHHH!" Alexander screamed in pain as he was unable to use his arms anymore.

The Mega Pokemon walked behind the Grass Pokemon and put his hands around Alexander's head, "Shhhh, no more cries. Only dreams..." He whispered in his prey's left ear and in one quick motion snapped the Sceptile's neck. The body of the reptile just fell limp on the ground. His eyes still filled with tears.

"No...no...NO!" Richter shouted, now too crying as two of his friends already died in just matter of moments.

Auroros' attention quickly turned towards Autumn, who in return jumped back in shock.

"Hahaha, you want to fight me with leaves? Those puny little things that can't even stay on a tree when a slight breeze hits them? Let me show you what happens to leaves when a storm hits them," the Mega Lucario intimidatingly said to the Leafeon before him and then formed a huge grin. He slowly approached the Eeveelution, who was frozen with fear in place. When he was before her, he raised his right foot and smashed it down on Autumn. She just stood there and awaited her impending doom. Autumn was just squashed like a Caterpie and parts of her body flew to the sides, leaving a giant mess under Auroros' feet.

"Huh, there was less brain matter than expected," he murmured still audible enough for Auron and Richter to hear it.

Right then and there, Richter's and Auron's sadness turned into an all out rage and anger.

"You will pay for this!" Our protagonist exclaimed and dashed towards his enemy, his friends following right behind him.

The three clashed against each other and exchanged fists and kicks, yet our duo was not able to even hit one punch on Auroros.

"Come on! I thought you wanted to make me pay for what I have done to your precious little friends here," the enemy taunted the two.

While Auron was throwing out attacks left and right, Richter was busy countering and dodging every attack was thrown at him. This all seemed too familiar.

Right as the man among Pokemon thought that, the leader of the Lucario clan managed to hit a Force Palm on Auron, causing him to crumble down in a paralyzed state. This distracted Richter for only a split second, but that was enough time for Auroros to start an counter attack via a High Jump Kick and knocking our hero down to the ground with a concussion.

The enemy slowly approached Auron, towering over him. He grabbed Auron by the throat and held the Lucario in front of him, "This feels like a Deja Vu, don't you think so too? Ah yes! This is exactly like the time two years ago, where I killed the other Auron, now I remember! I thought you would learn from your last mistake to defy me, yet it seems like my methods were still ineffective. Time to teach you a more 'personal' lesson, right after I deal with this pest here," Auroros asserted.

And just like two years ago, he started a Focus Punch attack as he cocked back his arm and after a little moment of concentration unleashed a devastating punch at Auron's stomach, causing a giant gaping hole. Bowels and intestines blowing out as the fist went through Auron's body.

"NOOOOOO!" Richter screamed out in physical and emotional pain.

"Another waste of a perfectly good Pokemon. I gotta say you taught him well, but not well enough. You failed against me last time, so what makes you think that you could suddenly defeat me now? You thought I wouldn't train and become better too? I admit it, I admired your thoughtfulness back in the days you were part of our group, but your disloyalty towards me caused your doom. You did this to yourselves, you could have lived a perfectly good life with us if you just had the guts to do what had to be done. Just because you couldn't live with your precious friend you made over the years? I taught you the importance of life and death, you yourself said it so often that death is part of life, so why not accept it back then? I guess nothing can be done about the past. I gave you a second chance to life, but you just threw it away and nobody deserves a third chance," Auroros spoke to Richter in a calm and collected voice as he threw away the dead body of Auron, "Now let me end this once and for all..."

The Mega Lucario crouched down in front of Richter and cocked back his right paw, "I hope this was worth it..." and a punch flew right towards Richter's face.

"NOOOOOOOO-"

"OOOOO..." Richter screamed as he sprang up from his bed in a cold sweat. He was drenched and confused on where he was at first, but quickly realised that he was back in his bed in the Pokemon Center.

"Whoa what happened, Richter?" Auron asked puzzled as to why his friend was screaming in the middle of the night. By now everyone else in the room was awake too and concerned about what happened to their trainer that made him scream.

"Did something happen?" Alexander inquired further, "You can tell us, you know that."

"Its...Its nothing. I just had a bad dream...I think," Richter explained, though uncertain on whether it was only a dream or possibly a bad omen.

"Well it had to be a really bad dream if it caused you to scream that much. After all we all figured nothing can scare you," Autumn spoke confidently.

"Well you guys aren't all that wrong about that assumption, yet there are two things that still scare me. The past and the future..." Richter answered the concerns of his teammates.

"What about the past and the future? What makes you so afraid of them? One is already over while we can still affect the other, everything is in our hands," Xavier tried to reiterate the situation.

"Well that might be, but as how we can affect the future, so can others too and that might lead to our misfortune," our protagonist tried to explain the intricacies of this concept, "Our actions do not only affect ourselves and our future, they can and very possibly will affect other people's futures too. It is egoistic, naive and narrow minded to think that...I am sorry I didn't want to say it like that, that was rude. This nightmare really got to me..."

"Its fine, everyone can lose it once in a while. I don't take it personal, but I think we are all very intrigued about your nightmare. What exactly was it that it turned you into such a...mess?" The Ralts asked, concerned about his trainer's mental and emotional condition.

Richter could only let out a big sigh before starting to tell his friends about his nightmare. Everyone had expressions of shock and disgust throughout, even Xavier who usually does not really show his emotions. Everyone looked very depressed and gloomy after Richter was done recounting what he dreamed about.

"I now see why you are so...impacted. This is quite a shocking vision you had for sure," Auron chimed in.

"That is exactly the problem. I can't just leave it as a 'nightmare'. Karma, the Mega Alakazam in the temple taught us many things. One of it was that dreams, no matter if it is a dream or a nightmare, but be a vision about the future. You guys ever saw a dream and something very similar happened in the near future and suddenly you feel like you had a Deja Vu?" The Exiled tried to explain to his Pokemon.

"Yeah I sure know that feeling, so I understand what you mean by that, but that does not mean anything! You can't let yourself be intimidated by something that may be only;" Alexander tried to comfort his master, "As Xavier said before, we decide our future with our actions!"

Richter thought about what his friends said. What they said made sense, yet at the same time it made it difficult for him to decide what he wanted to trust more. Trust his friends or his own instincts and knowledge. Richter just sighed and looked at the clock beside him, 5:20 A.M. He knew he would not be able to sleep anymore for now.

"I am going to take a shower and then go to the beach and train a little bit. You just go ahead and rest more, you earned it after what happened yesterday. Good night everyone," the young man said and slipped into the bathroom.

After only about ten minutes, he left the bathroom again. Sorted out his stuff, got himself dressed properly, took his katana with him and left the room to head to the beach. Little did he know that his teammates were only pretending to sleep.

"Guys, I don't think he is really over the nightmare," the Sceptile spoke up to his friends to express his concern, "I know, but what do you propose we should do?" The shiny Lucario asked in return.

"I might not be as smart as Xavier or not know Richter for as long as Auron and Alexander, but what I did every time my trainer was sad was to stand by her side. Show her that I am there for her no matter the situation, that always cheered her up, but as I said I don't know if that would be super effective on him," Autumn tried to help find a solution, "I actually think you are not far off with your suggestion," Xavier started to explain, "Richter lost a lot of important people in his life. Auron, his parents, his home. He is traumatized after all what he has gone through, understandably so .We can't even begin to understand how he truly feels right now, yes we too have lost loved ones, but he lost his whole life, twice. He knows how to cope with his feelings the best, he will get over it, I am sure about that, but that should not stop us to help him cope with it better or faster. We should show him that we are there for him, we should show him that we are not gonna leave his side!"

Everyone looked very determined and cheered up again.

"Yeah that is a great idea! What kind of friends would we be if we let him down when he needs us the most? Come on guys, I am not tired anymore! Let's go and train with him! He still owes Alexander and me a move he wanted to teach us," Auron cheered up the rest of the troop.

"Oh right, I completely forgot about that! But I think we shouldn't bug him about that right away, we would look needy and not really be there to comfort him," the reptile like Pokemon responded.

Everyone jumped out of their respective sleeping area and stormed out of the room together. When they left the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy was a little startled seeing four Pokemon run away like that, but didn't really know what to do since they didn't escape the Medical Bay or anything.

"Oh right those are the Pokemon of that one guy with the hood and the sword with him. He also just left the Center, I guess they are just following after him," she concluded.

"There I can see him," Alexander said as he spotted his trainer with his keen eyes. He ran closer towards the beach while the rest tried to keep up with the super fast Sceptile. Now that Alexander evolved to his last evolution, he gained another big boost to all his stats. He is faster, stronger and more resilient than before and he already was pretty damn fast. Now no one of the group could keep up with him and Alex wasn't even giving it his all. Richter's training really did affect everyone in some way or another.

Shortly before Alexander arrived at the beach, he jumped off the short cliff and started a Leaf Blade attack directed at Richter, "Surprise attack!" he exclaimed as his green, sword-like, leaves made their way towards his trainer.

Richter instinctively turned towards the source of the scream and quickly parried the Leaf Blade attack with his own sword.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep?" The swordsman asked his Pokemon, "We haven't trained in a while I believe and what better training partner could I ask for than you?" The Sceptile replied as he separated himself from Richter.

Right then the rest of the troop arrived at the beach and called out to their friends.

"Did you all just come after me to train with me?" Richter asked everyone, "We came to do more than that, we came for you," Auron explained.

"For me? What do you mean by that?" Richter questioned right back, "We can't just leave you alone, not after that nightmare you had. We said before that we see you more as a father figure than a trainer and family always stays together, because only together are they really strong! Like this stick here, it only breaks easily, but if you combine it together into a bunch of sticks it is way more resilient and doesn't break," the Lucario happily explained to Richter. Richter on the other hand just took the bunch of sticks and with little to no effort broke them down in the middle, "There is only so much it can resist though, everything has its break point..."

"Aww, come on man! Don't be like that! You are usually the cheery guy, you always cheered us up when we were down and now we are here to do the same for you. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it?" Alexander chimed in now to reinforce Auron's argument and convince his partner, "After all you also still owe us some teaching lessons. You promised to teach Auron and me a move because we won that swim race together, you remember?"

Richter did indeed remember that promise he made and they seemed to be ready to learn it too, especially after the display of skill against Team Neo Terra in Rustboro City and against the Mega Gyarados.

"*sigh* Fine, fine. I am a man of my word, never tell anyone I don't keep my promises!" The young man finally gave in to the requests of his friends.

Richter took both of his hands and interlocked them, forming a giant fist and rammed it into the sand facing the ocean. This resulted in a massive earthquake, even shaking the ocean, causing waves to form towards the body of water.

"This was Earthquake, I am sure Alexander remembers this moves," Richter spoke up, "Yes, that was the move the Golem used in our first gym battle. It surely was a devastating move, even destroying the arena we were fighting in," the grass Pokemon remembered it's first encounter with the move.

"There is a little difference between Auron's and Alexander's Earthquake attack though. Auron, you have to focus all your Aura into your paw and when smashing it on the ground, release all the Aura energy into the land before you. This will cause the earth ripple and shatter from the massive amount of energy released suddenly. Alexander, yours is a little different but essentially should be the same. As you know nature's energy is everywhere and you can utilize that to your advantage, in your case in form of Leaf Blade and Energy Ball. The same principle is applicable to the Earthquake attack. Just gather that energy and release it into the ground before you, this should cause the earth to shake," the mentor expounded to the duo.

"Huh, sounds easy enough," Auron said, "Yeah I agree, I thought it would be more complex," Alexander added.

"Well it is different for every Pokemon really. Ground type Pokemon can harness the power if the ground they are standing on, while other Pokemon just smash the ground hard enough to cause an earthquake. Since you guys can harness external energies, things become easier. Me being able to control my Aura and the Aura around me is the only reason that I can use Pokemon moves myself," Richter elaborated further, "Now when you train this move, be sure to do it rotational. Causing two earthquakes at the same time might be too devastating for the land here and might wake up people around here."

The two nodded in enjoyment and immediately started to train their newly taught move.

"Well since we all are here, I guess I should train you two too," Richter turned his attention towards Autumn and Xavier, "Sure, what do you want us to do?" The Ralts questioned, curious about what Richter comes up with for them.

"Autumn really showed how strong and determined she can be on the little cruise we had yesterday. You on the other hand, Xavier, you need some special, personalized training," the young man said under the moonlight, "You come with me now, I'll give you a little private lesson. Autumn you just train up your moves, maybe train on your accuracy a little more."

After that was said, Richter and Xavier left the group to their training and walked over to the other side of the beach, far away from the others.

Couple hours passed and the sun was already above the horizon, it was around 9:40 A.M. now.

Richter and his Ralts returned to the other three Pokemon. Xavier didn't look any different than before, though Auron and the rest looked really exhausted.

"Richter, can we go have breakfast now? I am tired, sweaty and hungry," Alexander nagged, "My oh my, when did I raise such a nagging queen?" Richter asked jokingly.

Alex head hung low as he thought that there would be no breakfast or a break in general.

"Haha, just kidding. I am also beat and hungry by now. Let's go eat something together in the Pokemon Center.


	18. Special Chapter 1: Stories of the Past

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone, it is me again! Now I am here with good and possibly bad news. Bad news: I have trouble concluding chapter 18 of the story. Good news: I was able to finish this 'filler' Chapter. I still hope you like it and I will try my best to get chapter 18 done as soon as possible! See you next Thursday!

* * *

 **Stories of the Past**

As our group of friends were sitting at a table in the cafeteria of the Pokemon Center and enjoying their breakfast, Auron suddenly spoke up, "Hey Richter, may I ask something?"

"Uh sure, what is it?" Richter responded, curious about what his partner wanted to know from him.

"You always say you had great times with Auron back in the temple, but we don't know much about him really. Mind to tell us a story or two between you and him? I want to know more about the person which I inherited the name from and I am sure the others would also like to know more about your former life. I know you dislike talking about it all, but maybe this could help you cope with it better," the shiny Lucario explained what he wanted to know.

"I see, well...Hmmm...I guess I should start with telling you more about him before telling you any story," Richter started out, "He was actually quite the opposite of me in many things. Impulsive, feisty at times, impatient, but also reliable, helpful and always cheerful. We had our arguments of course because of our opposite traits, but those were also the exact reasons why we kept being best friends. I guess the saying 'opposites attract each other' is quite correct here. Every time we were send out on a field trip to do whatever they wanted us to do, I was always the one to come up with a plan before heading out, while Auron was already packed and out the temple gates. While I was calm and collected, he was just doing whatever he felt like was right. We disagreed on many things, but we always found a compromise, usually when it was getting dark and we both wanted to sleep. He was under the assumption that offense was the best defense while I thought that a good defense is the best offense, that is also the reason we never won a fight against each other, it always ended in a draw when we both were completely exhausted."

"Wow, that is really cool! Tell us more please!" Alexander was eager to know more about Richter's past.

"Alright, alright. Let me think about a cool story for you guys," the young man thought for a moment about a story to tell his friends, "OK I know a good story."

 **Flashback 6 Years Ago**

"Hey Richter, come on! Stop slacking off and move your ass over here!" Auron exclaimed towards his human friend, "I am not slacking off! I am trying to read this map here but it doesn't make any sense!" The young boy screamed back at his partner.

Auron walked back to Richter to see what the problem was, "See this little river here? This is the one here on the map too, we are exactly here!" The Lucario explained to his friend their location on the map, "I knew that your sense of direction is terrible but this is getting ridiculous!"

"I know, I know. No need to rub it under my nose!" Richter tried to defend himself, "Yeah whatever, but why were we send out here again?" The Pokemon asked back.

"You already forgot? We have been out of the temple for only 3 hours now and you already forgot the briefing we had?" Richter was a little angered by his partners lack of attention, "Cut me some slack now. You know how boring Karma can be when briefing us, or when he talks in general! I am more amazed about the fact that you can listen to him for more than ten minutes without feeling the need to fall asleep," Auron nagged back.

"Well that might be because the information he gives us is invaluable and important for the mission," young Richter explained yet again, "Ugh, sometimes you are impossible Auron, did I ever tell you that?"

"About five times every mission we go to, this is the third time you already mentioned it, but enough chit chat, what is our mission now?" Auron tried to get back on track, "If we follow down this river here, we should come across a big glade where the source of the river springs from. A group of Ursaring have gathered there and are denying access to the water spring. This is also why the river is running so low right now, they cut off the water supply with a makeshift dam. We are suppose to go and remove that dam, one way or another. We can't allow them to interfere with nature for their own advantages and profits."

"Profits? What do you mean with profits here?" The Pokemon asked confused, "Well they are hoarding that water and selling it to the wild Pokemon here, if want water they gotta pay up," the human explained further, "Pay with what? Real money?", "Of course not real money, they want berries in exchange. We presume that they are gathering the berries for their hibernation sleep through the winter, "

"But why don't they just go and collect the berries themselves?" Auron still confused about the whole situation, "Why do it yourself when you can make others do it for you, that is the only reason I can come up with to explain this," Richter tried to clarify it more.

Auron seemed to have accepted that reason although he was not 100% sure that that was the true reason behind all this, he just wanted to be done with this mission as soon as possible.

After another hour of marching along the river, they were able to spot a lonely Ursaring, it seemed like it was looking for something.

"Quick! Get down! There is one of them over there!" Richter informed his partner who they quickly removed his backpack and laid down low next to his friend who already did the same.

"What do you think he is doing out here all alone? Scouting?" The Lucario inquired his partner, "Yeah probably, or looking out for more prey, they don't only eat berries. They are also carnivorous as you know, but I suppose that selling the water for berries is more profitable and easier than go out hunting yourself. I would suggest we capture and interrogate him about the location of their base of operation," Richter suggested to his partner.

"Or we just beat him up and look for it for ourselves, that sounds a little more fun to me," the Pokemon said and tried to get up, but was stopped by his partner, "Listen up for a second! Let me handle this one and when we manage to find their base we can take a more direct approach like you like it, alright?" , "Hmm, fine. I guess you are correct that would be better for the mission," Auron conceded to Richter's idea of approach.

Richter took out a rope from his backpack and the duo slowly and stealthily approached their enemy from behind.

Richter tapped on the back of the bearlike Pokemon to gain its attention, "Excuse me Sir Ursaring but I believe there is someone behind you," the boy said in an innocent tone.

The Ursaring was a confused by what was happening right now, "What are you doing here all alone? Go away and don't come again or you won't see the next day!" It screamed at Richter, "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you though..."

Right then Auron positioned himself behind the big Pokemon and used a Low Kick attack on the back of its knees, causing it to collapse to Richter's size. The young boy swiftly unleashed Force Palm attack on the temple of the Pokemon before him, knocking it out cold for now.

"Alright, tie him him up nice and tight while I prepare a little lunch for us," the human kid solicited his partner who agreed and proceeded to tie up the Ursa ring with the rope that Richter provided.

About ten minutes later Richter was has readied up some berry sandwiches with the resources he picked up from the temple. The two sat right next to each other while the Ursaring was tied up to a nearby tree. The duo was enjoying their meal very much and just waiting for the big bear to finally awake so they can question him a little.

"Damn, I don't know what you put in these sandwiches but they are always so amazing, I love it when you make us food," the Lucario told his partner, "Well they really ain't anything special really. I take the berries, turn them into jam and spread them on the bread I have with me. Though I do put some other herbs in the jam together with other bits of berries. I like to experiment with the stuff I have with me to spice up our lunches. I know how much you like my cooking skills after all," the boy mused around.

After about thirty minutes, the Ursaring seems to be waking up.

"Well, well, well, look who is returning to the land of the living. Had sweet dreams big one?" Auron teased their prisoner.

"Release me now and I will be quick when killing you!" The Ursaring threatened our two friends.

"I don't think you are in the position to make any demands or threats, don't you agree?" Richter countered. The hostage you snarled at that comment.

"Now that you kinda understand the situation you are in, I am sure you wouldn't mind telling us a thing or two," Richter continued the interrogation.

"I will never tell you about our base at the base of this riv-" Right then the Ursaring noticed its own stupidity, "Come on, you gotta tell us something we don't know yet, but thanks for confirming our information," Auron chimed in.

Knowing that he already revealed some critical information, the enemy chose to not say anything at all to avoid further leaks of info.

"Oh so you gonna give us the silent treatment, eh? That won't work very well with us you know," Richter tried to explain to the hostage.

Richter looked like he was focusing really hard and after a couple of short minutes, "Our base is protected by eight more Ursarings. One is always scouting for potential prey or enemies, that was my job today. The other eight are watching the camp in teams of four, one team for the day watch the other team for the night watch. In about 3 hours the watchers will change and that is when I have to return back to base too," The Pokemon tied to the tree suddenly blabbered out all the important information and then passed out again.

"You asked Karma for support didn't you?" Auron asked his partner, "Well he wasn't going to talk anytime soon and as a human my mental capabilities are nowhere near the ones of a Mega Alakazam. I am happy enough to be able to talk to him telepathically and after all he did say in the briefing that if we need his help that I can just ask him. So he just entered this Ursaring's mind and let him tell us the info we needed," Richter elucidated further.

Having the information they needed, the two packed their stuff back in their respective backpacks and started to head up river further to find the spring and with that, the camp of the Ursarings.

After another hour or two of marching up the river, Richter seemed to have found the camp they were looking for.

"See the campfire over there, I suppose that is their base of operation, but where are the Ursarings that are suppose to watch the camp at day?" The boy muttered, "I don't know but I sure know what I am gonna do now. Find out where they are, my way!" Auron responded to his partner and dashed out into the open. Richter was able to feel Auron's aura flaring inside of him. He too stood up and ran after his partner, "Guess we are doing this your way, like I promised."

When both of them stood right next to the Campfire, they both were confused on where the enemies are, "Where are they?" Richter muttered under his breath.

"Right here!" A loud voice exclaimed and from all sides eight Ursarings emerged, surrounding our two friends.

"How did they know?" Richter asked his partner, "I know why as much as you know. One thing I know for certain is there are going to be eight Ursarings knocked out by us. Let's go!" Richter's partner Pokemon exclaimed and ran to the nearest enemy in sight and greeted it with a High Jump Kick, knocking it out in one hit, "Come on you are missing out on all the fun!"

Richter sighed but couldn't help to smirk too from his partner's lively nature, he sure was a jolly fellow.

"Alright, who is the first one to get served by me?" The young boy taunted the enemies, causing one of the Ursarings to charge at him angrily, "How brutish..."

The bearlike Pokemon started out with a Slash attack. Richter caught his giant paw and used its own strength against it by performing a Seismic Toss, fainting the Ursaring in the Process, "Two down, six mor-" , "Got another one over here!" Auron interrupted Richter's thought process for a second, "five more to go..." Richter corrected himself quickly.

Two more Ursarings came charging at the young kid that just knocked out their comrade in swift move. They slashed at the boy relentlessly, but he managed to dodge those sluggish swings rather easily. He saw a perfect opening for a counter attack and used a Low Kick on one of the two assailants and continued that with a Low Sweep against the other one. The first Ursaring fell on his back by the Low Kick attack, since it was stronger against heavier targets, that gave Richter enough time to use Brick Break on the other one's temple area too. That Brick Break was able to knock that Ursaring out flat. Before the other one was able to stand up, the human fighter, finished it off with a Karate Chop.

"Thre-", "Got two more over here again!" The Lucario yet again disrupted Richter's train of thought, "Fine, one more to go I guess!" The kid exclaimed so his partner knew how many were left.

The two cornered the last Ursaring, "Do you know how difficult it is to feed a group of nine Ursarings for the hibernation sleep? It is impossible!" The enemy tried to defend its actions, "We do not care about that, you can't go around and take another natural resource away from other Pokemon just so that you can survive. You are plunging other Pokemon into their demise for that and disrupt the natural flow of this river. Life isn't always easy but that is no reason make it more difficult for others!" Auron tried to explain the situation to the remaining Ursaring.

"What should we do then? Just die like crops in the winter? You can't tell me that that is the correct way to go too!" The big Pokemon tried to further defend its point and actions.

"No we are not saying that you should just die. What we are trying to convey is to find a way to save yourselves without damaging other natural resources. Necessity is the mother of invention after all. Now take you pack when they all wake up and try to go further south, there are some more berry fields and some Deerlings that you can try to hunt, care for the parents though. Sawsbucks are very protective of their off springs," Richter informed the last member of the gang.

The opponent was clearly confused by the look on his face, "Why are you helping us now suddenly? Are you not here to get rid of us?" He asked.

"No we are not, we are here to stop you from doing your little business here, we are not here to completely get rid of you guys. If that was the case, you would not be speaking with us right now," Richter expounded further, "Now back to our mission. Auron, if you don't mind could you finish for what we came for?"

"It would be a pleasure," The Lucario said and moved towards the makeshift dam that was holding back the water of the river.

He started concentrating a little and a little blue ball started forming in front of his paws. Couple seconds later, the balls grew to a relatively big size, already bigger than Auron's head. Shortly afterwards he fired the Aura Sphere he was prepping up at the dam and destroyed it in one fell swoop. The water was now flowing freely again and the river's water level rose back to its original levels.

Right then it appeared that the Ursarings began to wake up again from their beating.

"Great now that guys are back up we can finally leave this place!" The last Ursaring told his comrades.

"What why? We can totally beat those guys now, they just got lucky we underestimated them!" One of the many Pokemon spoke up, "Ah, just shut up and let's go!" The other Ursaring responded. Many other Ursarings agreed on just leaving, especially now that the dam is destroyed and they just got the beating of their life served to them. As the group of Pokemon was leaving, Richter remembered something, "The last one of you is further down south tied up to a tree, you might want to help him out of that _tight_ situation."

The boy started to giggle at the little joke he made.

"Was that a joke?" Auron asked a little baffled, "Since when do you make jokes?"

"What is that suppose to mean? I am a really funny person!" Richter argued, "Oh you are most like the most unfunny person I know," Auron countered back, "You never make jokes!"

"You are impossible, Auron, do you know that!" Richter retorted, "That's the 4th time now, one more to go!" Auron said tauntingly, "Ughh..." was Richter's only response.

As the duo just stood there in the middle of the woods in the glade with the beautiful river flowing right next to them as well, they both came up with the same idea.

"Hey, you thinking what I am thinking?" Auron started out, "Oh you know I do, let me tell Karma quickly," Richter responded.

Yet again Richter focused intensely to communicate with the Mega Alakazam via telepathy.

"Excuse me Karma, but I have yet another request I would like to make," the boy started to explain, "What is it this time?" The response came quickly.

"We finished up the mission. The dam is destroyed and the Ursarings have learned their lesson. I believe that concludes the mission that you assigned to us, correct?" The human boy explained to his superior.

"Yes that does indeed conclude your mission, now what did you want to request from me when you are already done with the mission?" One of the two leader Pokemon asked Richter.

"The same we request after almost every mission, as you already know. We would like to camp out here until tomorrow, it is a really nice place here after all," Richter explained to Karma.

"And as always my answer is the same. Do whatever you please, since you finished the mission you are free to do whatever," The Mega Alakazam said and hung up on the telepathy call.

"And? What did he say?" Auron asked eagerly to know the answer, "Like always. Since we finished the mission, we are free to do whatever we want as long as we do not endanger ourselves or the temple. You get our tent ready while I go collect some firewood and get our dinner ready," Richter responded to his partner and went off deeper into the woods to go get some firewood.

"Aye aye, Sir!" Auron said with a smile and saluted as Richter left into the woods. He always tried to mock Richter in some way or form, but deep inside they were best friends. Even though they would occasionally drive each other insane or have arguments on how to approach a certain situation, they always found a compromise.

They especially loved to camp outside after a successful mission, spent some time together since they are not allowed to interact much in the temple itself. They have to train most of the time there, so having a camping trip was one of the few times they were able to spent time together. That is also the reason they always want to finish each mission as fast and precise as possible so that they have the rest of the day for themselves. Even though Richter was a human among all the Pokemon and was always an outsider in the temple, he was also the one that was one of the strongest. He was able to keep up with the strongest fighters. He knew he was an outsider all along, he knew that he was not a Pokemon nor that he ever would be one, but that did not waver his spirit to reach the top like Auron himself. That is also the reason they became such good friends, both of them always strife to be on top since their were little. Auron didn't care that Richter was human, he saw him as a worthy opponent and over time as his best friend, someone he can entrust his life.

While musing over his friendship with Richter, Auron was able to put up the little tent they always bring with them on missions for exactly this reason alone.

Shortly after the young boy returned from the woods with a big stack of firewood, "Ugh, finally! I thought I would never find the way back! I found enough firewood in like five minutes, but lost my way back here..." the boy said annoyed, "Well at least you managed to get the tent up and going."

"Goodness gracious, when will you learn to navigate through Sinnoh? You lived all your life here and you still get lost, it is not the first time we are in the woods here after all," Richter's partner nagged, "I know, I know! Let me figure that out somehow, I get criticized by not only you, you know? Auroros and Karma are giving me hell for that too, but I will promise that I will learn it someday. Right now, let me get this fire started and cook us up some tasty Tauros steaks I brought with me," the kid told his friend who was already impatiently awaiting his dinner.

"Aww yes! I love me some steak! Richter, you are the best, did I ever tell you that?" The Lucario said happily, already drooling a little, "Yes you did, however, you only said it whenever I cook something. How come I never hear that on other occasions?" Richter teasingly asked, "Well that is a good question, a question for after dinner I believe..." Auron tried change the topic of conversation. Richter just shook his head and continued to prepare the two steaks.

Young Richter washed his hands in the river and started seasoning the two pieces of meat. After that, he hung them over the open fire Auron started with a Fire Punch while Richter was getting the food ready.

"That is something I always wanted to ask you, where did you learn to cook so well?" The Lucario asked while waiting for the meat to cook, "When I am not training with you, I am sitting at the library and reading books," Richter answered.

"Yeah I know that, but that doesn't really explain it," Auron countered, "Well there are not only those 'boring' books how you like to call them. There are also old and new cookbooks and since I know that I am good at cooking, thanks to your praise, I continue to focus more on that aspect right now," Richter explained simply.

"Maybe you can teach me a little bit about cooking too sometime?" Auron asked, a little embarrassed. Richter was definitely startled by that request, "Uh, this comes as a surprise to me..."

"Ah, I knew it was a stupid idea to ask..." Auron replied with his head hung low, "Oh no don't think like that, I was just a little surprised since you never asked me to teach you something before. I am usually always the one to ask you to teach me something, may it moves or for directions...but that doesn't mean it was stupid of you to ask. I would absolutely love it to help you out too, I can finally repay you for everything you helped me with. Without you I wouldn't be where I am right now," the young boy reassured his partner.

"Really? You are sincere?" Auron's face brightened up a lot and a smile grew back on his face, "Yes absolutely! After every training session I make food for us two, right? So next time we train and are finished, let's make some food together, what do you say?" Richter proposed to his friend, "Deal!" was Auron's response to that.

After that agreement, it looked like the steaks were finally ready at a medium rare state. The sky was already pretty dark and the moon was shining bright. In the river the reflection of the it could be seen, it really was a beautiful scenery to behold.

"Damn it really is beautiful today isn't it? I really like the moon, it shines so bright, even in the darkest of nights and together with the stars it just lightens up the whole sky," Auron mused, "Yeah I gotta agree, it really is beautiful. Let me go and prepare some tea for us, what do you say?" Richter asked, "Yeah that'd be great, thanks!" The Pokemon responded, his gaze stuck on the night's sky.

Young Richter walked over to the river again with two cups in his hand and filled them both up with some water. As he returned back to his backpack, he took out a little box with several leaves in them and put a some into the cups filled with water. He positioned the cups above the open fire to brew up some nice, warm tea. After about ten minutes, the tea was ready too, Richter hand over one cup to Auron, "Careful it's still hot!", "Thanks mom, I'll keep that in mind..." Auron teased Richter again. Richter couldn't do much but laugh at that comment, since he did kind of sound motherly right there, but he didn't mind that at all. He even saw it more of a compliment than anything.

"Thank you, thank you for everything Richter. Thank you for all the time you spent with me, thank you for always being there when I needed someone. Thank you very much, I know I don't say this nearly as often as I should and I am also sorry for that," Auron apologized to his partner as he took a sip from the hot tea in his hand.

"Who are you and what have you done to Auron. The Auron I know never apologizes to me!" Richter exclaimed, clearly making fun of his partner in the process.

"Hahaha, very funny. But you know I am sincere about it, right?" The Pokemon asked again to be sure, "Auron, I very much appreciate your sincerity and I feel honored that you think like that about me. Please know that everything you said also applies to you. I know I am the biggest outsider in the temple yet you never turned your back on me. Quite the opposite, you protected me from the others, you were the one to always support me from the beginning, how could I simply not try to help you in return? You definitely don't need to apologize for anything. Thank you for being there when nobody else was..." Richter thanked his partner.

"No problem. As long as you got my back, I got yours!" Auron promised his partner with a thumbs up, "Alright! Now eat up before the steak gets cold, we don't need to get too melancholic," the kid reminded the both to start eating.

The duo dug into their steaks together with the tea Richter brewed up.

"Ahhh, I am stuffed...That was delicious as always *burp*" The Lucario said, sounding satisfied with the meal that was served, "I see that you liked it, though I think it was missing some salt," Richter agreed with his partner.

"Alright, time to head to bed now. You coming?" Auron asked his friend, "Yeah right after I wash the dishes and put out the campfire here," Richter told Auron while already bringing the dishes they used towards the river to clean them.

After he finished cleaning, he put the dishes back into his backpack and entered the tent where Auron was already asleep, "Wow that was fast..." Richter murmured quietly to not wake his friend up. He then proceeded to lay down on the ground to catch some sleep too. The problem was that it was really cold out there and Richter had a difficult time sleeping in the cold especially since it was autumn already, the temperatures dropped to very low degrees at night. It rarely happens, but he forgot to bring something, something important in this situation, a blanket. The boy started to shake from the cold, but suddenly he felt something warm embracing him.

It was Auron, who snuggled right next to Richter in the cold autumn night to warm him up.

"Don't tell anyone this, alright?" Auron said a little threateningly, "Thanks..." Richter just muttered. Both fell asleep with a smile on their faces as a another day ends in Sinnoh.


	19. Chapter 18: A Rematch between Rivals

**Author's Note:** My oh my, this chapter killed me. I don't know why I struggled so much to finish it even though it is so short and straightforward. I am sorry for the delay and I hope you guys liked the Special Chapter I put up last week.

However now, I hope you still like this chapter and somehow enjoy it :P

Have a nice day and happy Holidays!

* * *

 **A Rematch between Rivals**

"Damn that was a cool story! Got another one?" Auron asked excitedly, "Maybe for another time. Right now we should go ahead and get our next badge," Richter simply said.

Everyone got up from the table in the Pokemon Center's cafeteria and, together, they headed out the front door.

Outside, our troop saw some familiar faces yet again.

"Well, well, well. Who do we have here," The voice of a young man sounded, "I guess it was just a matter of time until we met again."

"Indeed, Jake. Seems like we always meet when one of us is going for a gym badge," Richter responded casually.

"You know what also was just a matter of time?" The teenager asked with a smirk on his face, "Oh I agree, it has been a quite a while. Time for another battle!" Richter knew exactly what Jake was referring to.

Reese just stood there with her brother by her side and watched as the whole spectacle unfolded itself before her, "Why do you boys always have to fight?"

"Always? This is our second fight! And this is what rivals do," Jake tried to explain this to his sister. She just scoffed it off and kept on watching.

"I see that Alexander has grown yet again since our last encounter. You seem to take very good care of your Pokemon. Funny how last time we fought you only had Auron and Alexander, now you have almost a full team," Jake complimented Richter's ability as a trainer, "Well thank you for your compliment. It seems like your Eeveelutions are doing great too," Richter tried to counter the compliment with one of his own as he saw the Espeon, Glaceon and Umbreon by Jake's side, looking happy as always.

"Oh look he has a Leafeon now!" The Espeon said to her teammates, "Oh indeed, let's talk to her!" Arctica, the Glaceon, suggested. Jake's three Pokemon approached Autumn all of the sudden.

"Hey there! We don't know each other but we are Jake's partner Pokemon and we saw you being together with Richter, so we thought we could talk a little," Psyana, the Espeon explained in calm tone.

"Oh hi! My name is Autumn and I met Richter in the Petalburg Woods. What are your names?" The Leafeon was happy to meet new people and especially new Eeveelutions.

"This is Psyana, my name is Arctica and the grumpy one over there is Umbra," The Glaceon introduced everyone in order. First the Espeon then herself and lastly the Umbreon beside her which was the only male one in the group.

"Hey I am not grumpy! I am just always...in thoughts! That's it!" The Umbreon tried to defend himself from that previous accusation.

"Yeah, yeah that's what you say every time," Psyana teased Umbra a little more, who in return pretended to not have heard that.

Autumn blushed a giggled a little at Umbra's reaction. She thought it was cute.

Richter just stood there and listened to what they were talking about, while Jake was confused on what his Pokemon were doing.

"Uhh, Richter. Mind telling me what they are saying?" The young man in the black shirt asked his rival, "Oh, they are just having a little small talk, that's all. And it seems like Autumn has found a liking on Umbra," Richter explained.

"What?" Both Jake and Umbra exclaimed, a little shocked by this revelation. This caused Autumn to blush even more, confirming Richter's suspicions.

"Well...This comes as a surprise really..." Jake muttered as he rubbed the back of his head, "But this shouldn't stop us from battling, right?"

"Not at all. Choose your Pokemon and let's do this quick. We still have a badge to win here. A three on three battle I presume?" Richter asked to make sure everybody knows the rules of the fight, "Correct! I'll go first then, Psyana I choose you!"

Right when the Espeon heard her name, she and the other two Eeveelutions ran back to Jake's side after saying their goodbyes to Autumn.

Psyana stood in front of Jake and entered its battle position, she looked very calm and collected.

"Alrighty! Alexander, I think it is time to show him how much you have grown since he last met you!" Richter called upon his Sceptile to enter the fray.

"I guess I'll be the referee again," Reese offered her help like last time.

The battle was about to commence, the two trainers were just waiting for Reese's signal to finally start it.

"I want a clean and fair battle between you two! Are you two ready?" She asked with a firm voice so both could hear her. Both, Jake and Richter nodded in agreement. "Alright, GO!"

The battle has now officially started.

"Alexander, Bullet Seed!" Richter commanded his partner.

The Sceptile started firing multiple seeds at the Espeon.

"Psyana, counter with Psyshock!" Jake ordered.

Psyana used her telekinetic powers to conjure a wave of psychic energy in front of herself and stopped all the incoming seeds .

"Time for us to go on the offensive! Psyana, use Psychic!" Richter's rival commanded.

The Espeon focused all her psychic powers on Alexander, lifting him off the ground and shortly after smashing him back down on the ground again.

Meanwhile, Richter was closely analyzing Psyana's powers and possible limits. He was sure that she was strong as long as you gave her a static target to focus all her power on.

"Alright Alexander, time to show her what we are made of! Move around her as quickly as possible and attack her with quick slashes of Leaf Blade. Do not stand still for too long!" The Exiled told his friend. Alexander quickly started to gain speed and run around in an unpredictable pattern, sometimes running circles and sometimes running in zigzag. Then he started to unleash one Leaf Blade attack after another at the Espeon, who didn't know what to do since Jake was not able to give her proper orders. Psyana was being hit by one attack after another and she was at the edge of fainting already.

"Time to end this! Alexander finish her off with an Energy Ball!" Richter gave Alexander another order to finish this fight.

Jake was concentrating really hard to figure a way out of this misery Psyana was in, but it was already too late. Out of seemingly nowhere a green orb was flying straight towards the Espeon and on impact caused a big explosion. The Sceptile stopped in its tracks in front of Richter and as the clouds of dust disappeared, an unconscious Psyana could be found on the floor.

"Psyana is unable to fight anymore! Winner of round one is Richter and Alexander!" Reese announced, a little concerned about her brother and his Espeon.

"Huh, seems like we still got some serious training to do Psyana, but you did well enough," Jake said in a soft voice as he recalled his Espeon back into his Pokeball, "Next up are you, Arctica! Make me Proud!"

Upon hearing her name, Arctica the Glaceon, ran in front of her trainer, "I won't disappoint you!" she said.

"Is everyone ready again?" The referee asked the two combatants, who again nodded in agreement, "Alright! Round two, GO!"

"Arctica try to freeze him down on the ground with Ice Beam!" Jake's voice echoed in the Glaceon's head as she started to gather cold energy in her mouth. Very soon the Ice Beam attacked commenced and was heading towards Alexander.

"Alexander dodge the Ice Beam and return the favor with an Energy Ball attack!" Alexander's trainer said in a focused voice, trying to figure out the best course of action.

The Sceptile dashed to the side and barely dodged the Ice Beam, he was able to feel the cold emitted by the beam even after dodging it. Without further ado the Grass starter fired its own attack at the Eeveelution who was surprised by the vast speed of its enemy's movement and attack before being hit by the Energy Ball.

Arctica was hit by the attack, but she stood her ground. It seemed like she really didn't want to disappoint her trainer as much as Alexander didn't want to disappoint Richter.

"I have to admit it, your Sceptile is incredibly fast, but everything has an end. Arctica, initiate Hail then follow it up by Blizzard!" The young boys exclaimed towards it Pokemon.

The sky above the battlefield suddenly changed and black clouds gathered above them. Shortly after pieces of hail started raining down on the combatants but it appears that only Alexander was deteriorated by it, Arctica on the other hand looked healthier again as if it was flourishing under this extreme condition.

"What? Why is the hail not damaging you like it's damaging me? Rather, why are you looking better than before?" Alexander asked confused by what is happening right now, "Silly you, that is because of my ability Ice Body. I can absorb the coldness and pieces of hail and heal me with it. Jake understood that I don't stand a chance long term, except when I keep my self refreshed and healthy," The Glaceon smirking while explaining everything to her enemy because she knew she is gaining the upper hand, "Time to finish you off Alexander, nothing personal!"

Arctica's eyes started to glow a bright blue hue and the hail turned into a full blown blizzard. The temperatures dropping rapidly, the wind blowing wildly and the ground starting to freeze up already.

Alexander could feel the chill running down his whole body. It became more difficult for him to breath and his movements became very sluggish. He started to shiver and shake from the sheer cold that was enveloping his corpus. Because the cold was everywhere, Alexander had nowhere to run off to neither someplace to seek cover from the cold.

"Good Job Arctica! Freeze him in place with another Ice Beam!" the next order came from Jake. The Glaceon continued its barrage of attacks with the Ice Beam that was ordered by Jake. Alexander was left at their mercy since the sheer cold left him unable to move properly.

The Ice Beam slowly creeped up its way from Alexander's feet up to his head, completely freezing him in place.

"One Ice Shard should finish this. Go Arctica!" The rival said with a very determined voice, he was sure he was gonna win this round.

The Ice Shard was flying straight towards the frozen Sceptile's torso, shattering the shard and the ice around Alexander on impact. Out of the ice encasing, fell out a limp hanging Sceptile.

"Alexander is unable to battle! Winner of round two are Jake and Arctica!" Reese proudly announced, since her brother won this time.

"Hey, is Alexander gonna be alright?" Auron asked, worried about his friends physical condition, "Yeah don't worry. I'll take care of his minor wounds. He is just heavily exhausted by all that cold, well and the wounds. He just needs rest," Richter reassured his other partner Pokemon and carried Alexander away from the battlefield and placed him behind him, covering him with his coat to warm him up again.

"Got you good there, didn't I Richter?" Jake taunted a little, "Not so fast Jake. This isn't over yet," our Protagonist retorted.

"Auron I think it is time to show them how much you have learned since your last battle against Jake, don't you agree?" Auron's master said, he knew he was gonna win this one now.

The shiny Lucario stepped forward and got into his battle stance, already adjusting his breathing and thus initiating Swords Dance. He was ready to win, he was not gonna let Alexander's fight be for nothing.

"Ah, Arctica. I see that your face has recovered since it's last encounter with my fist," Auron taunted, "Hahaha, very funny. Let's see what comes out of your muzzle once it is frozen solid!" She tried to counter. She was not gonna let that taunt get to her.

"Alright everyone, round three is about to commence. GO!" Reese started out the next round of this heated battle.

"All this ice is really distracting don't you agree Auron? How about we shake this place up a little," Richter already hinted at Auron's next move, "Alright, as you wish. Looks like this place needs a little makeover!" The Lucario exclaimed as he smashed his fist into the ground.

Shortly after the earth began to shake violently, cracks opened up and the whole battlefield turned into a big mess, but at least all the ice and snow was finally gone. The hail on the other hand was still going strong.

Arctica was seriously shaken by that attack and was trying to regain her footing, but Richter was not gonna give her any chance to come back.

"Quick, Auron! Close the distance with with Quick Attack and continue with a Power-Up Punch!" Richter swiftly ordered his partner.

While the Glaceon was still trying to regain her composure, the Lucario was already right next to her, delivering the Power-Up Punch to her body and strengthening himself in the process even more. Just like last time too, Arctica was send flying by the sheer force that impacted her body.

"Let's close this round quickly, finish it with Aura Sphere!" Richter voiced his command to Auron.

Auron quickly collected the necessary Aura in between his paws to form an Aura Sphere as Arctica was still midair and shot it soon after. The blue ball of Aura followed the Glaceon in the air and connected before she even landed on the ground from the former attack, a big explosion erupted when the sphere connected with her. The explosion smashed her into the ground below her, instantly causing her to faint.

"Round three goes to Richter and Auron!" Reese announced the outcome of the battle.

"Damn! You fought well Arctica, but I guess Auron and his type advantage really is difficult for you to overcome," Jake said before recalling his Glaceon back into her Pokeball, "Fine then it is up to my last Pokemon, Umbra it is your turn now!"

Jake's Umbreon proudly positioned itself in front of his trainer. He looked very determined and serious.

"Round four and possibly last round of this match! GO!" The next battle officially commenced.

"Umbra, use Dark Pulse!" was the first command of Jake.

Surely enough, a dark aura emerged from Umbra's body and was making its way towards Auron. The dark thoughts encircled Auron damaging him, yet he did not lose his focus. Probably thanks to his ability Inner Focus, preventing him from flinching.

"That's not all, give him a piece of Assurance!"

Umbra didn't waste any time and continued its attacks on Auron. Since Auron took damage recently, thanks to Dark Pulse, Assurance did have a lot more power to it.

Yet again, the Lucario tanked the attack. Thanks to his typing, he was able to withstand all these attacks without too much struggle.

"Alright, that is enough! Auron time to counter, Force Palm!" Richter finally gave his first order.

The shiny Pokemon ran across the battle field towards the Umbreon, jumped up high and connected his Force Palm attack on Umbra. The Umbreon suddenly crumbled down, it was paralyzed by the attack and could barely stand on all fours.

"Umbra, use Payback!" Jake hoped to retaliate, but to no avail. Umbra was not able to move at all and could not perform the attack, the paralysis really did a number on him.

"Continue to attack it with Power-Up Punches!" The hooded man ordered his Pokemon.

Auron continued to barrage the Umbreon with one Power-Up Punch after another, feeling his strength growing after every strike, while Umbra just stood there and took the one hit after another. For having a type disadvantage, he sure took that beating like a champ.

"It is time to finish it again! Aura Sphere from close range!" The last order of the battle was voiced by Richter, he knew that this was already over.

Auron collected a massive amount of Aura between his paws, he too wanted to end this battle. As he was gathering his energy, he looked Umbra in his eyes. He did not see any sign of regret, rather disappointment. Disappointed that he couldn't do much in this fight at all really, disappointed that he let his trainer down. He didn't show it, but he was sad, that he was used like a punchbag. Seeing his pride destroyed like this, in an instant, already left a mark on him. There wasn't any reason to prolong this fight any longer.

Auron unleashed the massive Aura Sphere on Umbra at close range, causing a giant explosion. It took quite a bit until the dust settled and the result of the battle could be decided.

After the dust finally settled down, it was clear that Umbra has fainted, it was completely knocked out. On the other hand, Auron was still fine from that attack. He did tank a bit of that explosion himself, but nothing to worry about really.

" *sigh* Umbra, come back," Jake said as he pulled his Umbreon back in its respective Pokeball. He really was devastated that he lost this match too, he was sure that he could at least defeat Auron this time, especially after downing Alexander his hopes went up.

"Hey Jake, don't take this too seriously. You see that you still have somethings to improve, that is good to know," Richter tried to cheer his rival up, "Yeah that might be, but apparently you are already a grandmaster trainer even though you met your Pokemon just about a week ago," Jake answered back.

"Yes it is true that I do not know my partner for a long time, but fighting Pokemon and strategizing is what I grew up with. I tell my Pokemons to do what I would do if I were in there position. All these years in the temple weren't wasted even if I left with a sour taste at the end. Karma said something once that always stuck with me 'A true master is an eternal student'. With that I always strived to know more and more even if I would never know all. You have to do the same, train and train even more. You never get to be the best, because you you will never have learned everything there is to something. Every loss, every mistake is an opportunity to learn and become better. Grasp these opportunities and make them yours and never let go of what you learned," Richter gave Jake a life lesson, "I guess that makes sense...yet it doesn't really make the feel better," the young boy responded.

"Well yes, losing isn't always the most pleasant experience, but it is necessary in life. There will always be a time where you will lose something, be happy that it is only a Pokemon battle and not someone you care about..." Richter slowly started to drift in the wrong direction again, "but no matter that. Just keep on going on and on ahead. Don't let a single loss stop you in your tracks, alright?" Richter finished his speech with a smile at the end.

"I..I understand, thanks..." Reese's brother agreed to what Richter told him. He was thankful for his insight on things. Even though they were the same age, Richter seemed much more wise. Jake couldn't fathom what Richter might have had to go through to gain all this knowledge, not only about fighting but also about life.

Even though they are rivals, they get closer each time they meet. Sometimes your best friends can be your biggest rivals and sometimes your biggest rival can be your best friend. Only time will tell what will become of everyone.


	20. Chapter 19: 2 out of 8

**Author's Note:** Well well well, look who decided to finally upload something again. I am extremely sorry for the long delay! The holidays and university stuff have been piling on on me and well I was not able to write anything really. I actually have even more bad news, soon enough my exams will start and I have to prepare myself for that of course, that is why I am announcing that I will _hopefully_ upload something **Bi-Weekly** now. You might want to follow the story since I might get some free time and upload something earlier. I hope you guys are all doing well and had a good start in the new year

Have a wonderful day!

* * *

 **2 out of 8**

"Well Jake, it was nice seeing you two again and it was a pleasure having a fight again, but I need to take my leave now. I need to defeat the next gym leader here in Dewford Town, Brawly," Richter simply explained, "I wanted to do the same but now I see that I might still need a little training. Especially since I can probably only rely on Psyana to win everything for me. Arctica and Umbra will have too much trouble against the fighting types there," Jake responded.

"But I gotta commend you on your strategic thinking against Alexander. Using the type advantage and slowing him down to hit him for sure was surely a good idea. If you keep it up like that then there will surely be a time where you will beat me," our protagonist assured his rival, "I guess you are right. Well, see you later maybe!" the rival said farewell and went off to train with his Eeveelutions.

Richter on the other hand prepared himself for the next gym battle, he knew that it wouldn't be too difficult but also that he should never underestimate people he doesn't know.

"Let's go, I guess..." He thought to himself and started treading towards the gym building. His Pokemon noticed that and started following him without question. Soon enough they stood before the Fighting-Type Gym.

"Alright guys, let's do this!" Richter cheered his team up a little and entered the building.

"Hello Sir, how may I help you," the receptionist asked the young man, "I am here to fight the Brawly if possible," our protagonist answered.

"Sure, just step forward towards that platform before you and the gym battle will soon commence. I hope you are fit for the challenge," the young woman said with a smile, "Don't you mean if I am UP for the challenge?" Richter tried to correct her, "You will see soon, good luck!"

Richter and his partner Pokemon sure were confused by what the receptionist meant by 'are you fit for the challenge' but he didn't want to be deteriorated from his goal, so he just stepped forward to said platform together with Auron and the others to start the challenge.

A curtain closed behind our group and cut them off the entrance and receptionist. Everything turned dark for a moment, up until many lights illuminated the area. Before our troop, a gym like place was revealed. Treadmills, dumb bells and a some punching bags were placed in pairs. On each respective apparatus, one person was already using it. Richter was very curious on how this gym challenge was gonna go down.

The young male trainer carefully stepped forward to the first training machine, the treadmills, and was greeted by a young female trainer.

"Well, you must be the next challenger. Am I correct?" She asked simply, "Yes that is true. So what is the gist of this place here? I already heard that I gotta defeat the gym trainers before I am allowed to fight the gym leader," Richter asked curiously.

"It is relatively simple really. This gym was different a couple years ago, it was completely dark and people had to navigate through the place, find us and fight us to get more light and get to the gym leader that way. But it turns out that a lot of people would trip and fall over some corners and machinery and we got a lot of complains about that. Especially when they fell and hurt themselves that way, that wasn't really well received. So Brawly decided to change the gym up a little, make it more about fighting that before. What you have to do now is, adjusted to your age and weight, use the machinery before you together with the gym trainer while doing the Pokemon battle," the girl explained, "So did I get this right, I have to run on this treadmill while battling you and you are gonna run on the treadmill yourself too. And this applies to the other training machines later on in the gym too?" Richter asked again to make sure he understood everything correctly, "Yup that's exactly it!" the athlete responded happily.

Richter sure was intrigued by how this gym is running, but even more curious on what made Brawly decide on the former gym design. Running around in the dark to find the proper way and fight along the way to the leader seemed rather...unique not in a good way though.

He discarded that thought for now and started to concentrate more on what will happen right now.

"Alright Sir, how old are you and how much do you weight if I may ask?" The lady asked politely, "I am 21 years old and weigh around 150 pounds," Richter responded with a smile.

The young woman adjusted both the treadmills accordingly, "Please step on the treadmill now and chose your Pokemon to start the first battle," she continued explaining.

The protagonist did as told and stepped on the treadmill next to the lady who was already on the machine and ready to go, "Alright! Xavier it is your turn now!" Richter called out his Ralts to the battlefield before them.

The rest of the group was pretty surprised by that decision, they have never seen Xavier fight before and Richter choosing him in a gym battle was even more of a surprise. Auron was actually getting ready to battle together with Alexander as per usual mostly.

"Uhh, I don't want to undermine your decision Richter, but Xavier never fought before I believe. Are you sure you want him to do this fight?" The Lucario tried to swerve Richter's decision as he was worried about Xavier's well being.

"Oh don't worry about that Auron, I am pretty sure nothing is even gonna come close to touching Xavier," the young man answered with a smirk on his face.

The Ralts stepped on the battlefield and soon after the female trainer called out to her Pokemon, "Go, Tyrogue!"

The rather small Fighting-Type Pokemon was standing before Xavier with a menacing look, yet Xavier was not deteriorated by that. He looked determined himself, at least from what you could actually see from his facial expressions.

"OK, time to start the challenge!" The female athlete said and started both treadmills. Her and Richter started to pick up the pace to match with the machine and soon enough both of them were in an all out run.

"Xavier, Psyshock!" Richter quickly ordered his Ralts.

Suddenly, like out of nowhere, the Tyrouge was send flying and smashing into the wall behind it. Instantly rendering it unconscious. The fight was over in mere seconds.

Just how fast the battle started it was already over and the treadmills were turned off. Simultaneously the way opened up towards the dumb bells, the next challenge of this gym.

"Well...I certainly didn't expect this battle to go down this way or rather this fast to be honest. Your Ralts sure is stronger than it looks," the young lady told Richter before motioning him towards the next area of the gym, "Never judge a book by its cover. That proverb wasn't invented for nothing," our protagonist said as he was walking towards the next trainer.

Not only was the young woman shocked by that fight, Auron and the others were equally if not even more shocked by it.

"Since when are you so strong?" Alexander asked Xavier directly, "I didn't know I was this strong either, but today when I had my private training lesson with Richter I noticed that I had more potential to be unleashed. I know the simple moves like Psychic, Psyshock, and with Richter's help I was able to learn more moves. He couldn't perform the moves himself but he new exactly how they would be conceived. He said he learned it from Karma and from all the books back in the temple," the little Ralts answered to the Sceptile.

"My goodness, what does he not know?" Alexander mumbled, "Well I think it is fair to assume that if not everything he knows almost everything about Pokemon," Xavier responded to Alexander's statement, "Yeah I guess that makes sense after all those years in the temple," Alexander added.

Everyone started to follow behind Richter again to the next area where a rather muscular man was already awaiting them.

"Hello there fellow challenger! I am here to not only challenge your prowess in Pokemon battles but also strength. The last challenge was to test your stamina! Now without further ado get to those dumb bells over there on your side and start lifting them continuously until the fight is over. You can chose between 5, 10 and 15 kilograms, because a trainer should know what his limits are and act according to them," the man spoke to our protagonist.

The Exiled moved over to the dumb bells as told by the bodybuilder and picked up the 10 kilogram variant and started lifting it up and down. The male trainer send out his Pokemon first before picking up his dumb bells which had 20 kilograms each.

"Go Machop! Show them true strength!" He said before throwing the Pokeball and out came said Machop.

"Xavier, time to show what you are capable of!" Richter send out his Ralts to fight again.

"Hey there little guy, let me show you what true strength is," the Machop said and started flexing his muscles to impress and intimidate his opponent, "Strength does not only come from muscles, wit and intelligence is another form of strength all together. The witty can outsmart the strong and still defeat them even if their physical strength is nothing alike," Xavier tried to enlighten his enemy, but he just shrugged it off like it didn't mean anything.

"Xavier, sometimes it is easier to show people what you mean instead of trying to convince them with simple words," Xavier's partner said.

"Alright! Let the battle commence! Machop use Karate Chop!" The muscular man ordered his Pokemon.

"Xavier stop him in his tracks with Psychic!" Richter voiced his command to Xavier.

Just like Richter said, the Machop suddenly stood still and stopped running towards Xavier.

"What is going on? I can't move!" The Machop struggled, "Told you so," the Ralts said in a monotonous voice just before repeatedly slamming his foe into the ground with his telekinetic power.

After smashing the Machop into the ground a couple times, Xavier let go of him revealing his opponent to be unconscious.

Richter dropped the dumb bells as did the opposing trainer.

"Your little Ralts there is immensely powerful, I gotta respect that. You can move on to the last trainer over to the punching bags," the male trainer told Richter, Thanks for the compliment, I try to keep my Pokemon strong in their respective strengths," was his response.

Sure enough Auron, Alexander and Autumn all were still surprised by how easily Ralts was winning these battles.

As everyone was approaching the last area of the gym, the gym trainer was already welcoming our protagonist.

"Welcome Challenger, as you might have guessed already you gotta hit the punching bag as long as the battle is going on. So brace yourself!" Another female trainer quickly explained to Richter.

Without any words, the young man walked over to his punching bag and was ready to start the last gym trainer battle.

"Makuhita go and win us this battle!" The young woman send out her Pokemon.

A small yet chubby yellow Pokemon came out of the Pokeball.

"Xavier, use Dazzling Gleam!" Xavier's trainer told him what move to use.

A bright light emitted from Xavier's body and illuminated the whole battlefield. Before the Makuhita could even do anything it already fainted from the dazzling gleam.

"But...I didn't even give him any order. How did I lose this quickly..." The gym trainer was absolutely devastated by her swift loss.

Out of respect to the gym challenge, Richter gave the punching bag a heavy punch, causing it to crash down from the massive hit.

Suddenly another massive light emitted from Xavier, engulfing him completely.

"Is...Is Xavier evolving?" Autumn asked, happy that her friend was able to beat his third battle too.

Everyone stood there in awe as after some seconds the light faded and before them stood a completely new Xavier, he was now a Kirlia.

"Damn Xavier, you look good!" Alexander complimented his friend on his new evolution.

"Thanks my friends, I am glad to finally evolve too. This should help not only me but the whole team to succeed further along in our journey, right Richter?" The Kirlia asked his master, "Indeed Xavier, you just needed someone to show you your power and how to properly use it. Everyone here in our team has his strengths and weaknesses and each and everyone of us has the duty to protect the other when his weakness is showing," the young man explained to his newly evolved Pokemon, but it was also directed to everyone else.

Another curtain opened up, behind it stood Brawly with his arms crossed and eyes closed. His eyes snapped open and he began to walk towards Richter.

"You have fought well Challenger, you took down every single one of my gym trainers with only one Pokemon. That shows that you have trained it well and you know how to use type advantages properly. I do not expect to come out victorious when we battle, but that doesn't mean that I won't give it my all. What kind of Pokemon trainer would I be if I didn't at least try everything in my power to win? So enough talk! Time for a battle!" He proudly announced and walked back to his podium he was on just a moment ago. Richter on the other side respected what Brawly has said, he liked people with determination even in the most perilous situations and moments.

"As you wish Brawly, prepare yourself!" Was Richter's answer to the battle proposal, "Xavier show him why I chose you to fight these battles for me!"

The Kirlia stepped forward and awaited its opponent.

"Croagunk, give it your best!" The gym leader exclaimed while throwing his Pokeball and sure enough a Croagunk appeared.

"A Croagunk? Here in Hoenn? That sure is a surprise," Richter asked curious about this Croagunk's origin, "Well yeah they are usually from the Sinnoh region, but when I visited that region in my vacation, I picked one up. I was allowed to use it in the gym since it wasn't too strong and also because I am the gym leader after all," Brawly happily elaborated, "You have a Sinnoh Pokemon yourself over there. Pretty sure there are no Lucarios here in Hoenn either."

"True that I guess. However, let's get this battle going!" Richter stopped the conversation, "I agree! Croagunk use Poison Jab!"

The toad-like Pokemon swiftly rushed through the battlefield towards Xavier and smashed its poisonous fist into the Kirlia's face. The hit really did quite damage Xavier, since it was super effective against fairy types, but Xaviar stood his ground and tanked the hit the best he could.

"Time to retaliate! Finish him with Psychic!" Richter's voice echoed through the battlefield.

Xavier concentrated for a second and unleashed a devastating telekinetic force on the Croagunk, catapulting it with high speed into the ceiling and back into the ground. The four times effectiveness of Psychic-Type moves on the Croagunk made sure it fainted right away.

"Damn, that was a little harsh. However, I am not done yet! Medicham, you are my last hope. Get me this victory!" Brawly called out to his second and last Pokemon after recalling his Croagunk back to its Pokeball.

The Medicham looked very concentrated and didn't want to disappoint his trainer, but neither did Xavier.

"Medicham, use Zen Headbutt!" Brawly commanded, "Xavier, welcome it with a Shadow Ball!" Richter voiced his command.

As the Medicham was running head first into the Kirlia, Xavier was preparing a Shadow Ball between its hands.

Just couple feet before Medicham's attack would hit its target, Xavier shot his Shadow Ball attack at the Medicham. Brawly's Pokemon was stopped in its attack and fell backwards. The effectiveness was yet again enough to make the Pokemon faint in one hit.

"Damn, I hoped to at least get one attack in. *sigh* But as I said I didn't expect to win, so I can't be too mad about the loss," Brawly said in a rather calm demeanor, "Here, you earned this knuckle badge. Go and have fun on your journey, good luck!"

Richter happily accepted the second badge of the Hoenn region.

"Thanks Brawly, I appreciate your determination and will to fight. I think you are a great gym leader. Maybe we'll see each other again someday!" our protagonist told Brawly.

"Let's go celebrate our victory here by eating somewhere nice? What do you say guys?" Richter proposed to his teammates. The answer was a loud "YEAH!" in unison as everyone was really happy about their second gym victory. Their Journey was going slow yet steady, if only they knew what was awaiting them soon enough...


	21. Chapter 20: Back to the Beginning

**Author's Notes:** Here it is, just like I promised! I had a little trouble writing the beginning of this chapter, but the more I progressed the easier it became. It also is finally a little longer than the last couple chapters. I hope you guys will enjoy reading it.

 **PS: If anyone wants to beta read my chapters, please don't hesitate to contact me! Four or more eyes surely can detect more errors than two!**

* * *

 **Back to the Beginning**

"I just remembered something...There is no restaurant or anything like that here in Dewford Town..." Richter suddenly remembered, "I guess we gotta eat some more sandwiches before we arrive at our next destination, Mauville City!"

"Damnit, you got my hopes up! Oh well, the sandwiches aren't that bad either...I guess," Alexander said with a disappointed look on his face, "Oh Alex, always thinking about food," Auron said a little teasingly. Alexander just rolled his eyes over that comment.

"Well, how do we get to Mauville City?" Autumn asked her trainer, "Oh uhhh, let me see real quick," Richter responded. He took out the map he had in his backpack and tried finding Mauville City on it. After a solid minute, he was finally able to locate their next destination and their current location.

"Alright, we gotta head to Slateport City, go up Route 110. That should lead us directly into Mauville City," the young man explained to everyone, "Do we have to walk all the way Slateport City?" The Leafeon asked, "No, I am sure Mr. Briney would take us there by boat. The city has a big port as you might have known," Richter gladly explained, "We just gotta ask him."

With that said, our group made its way towards the little port in Dewford Town. As they were approaching it, they were already able to spot the yacht and the captain on top of it from afar. When they closed the distance, Mr. Briney was also able to spot our group approaching him and he greeted them, "Hey there! How did you guys do?" He shouted.

Richter proudly showed the Knuckle Badge to the old man. The sun shined on it too, making the badge sparkle bright like a diamond.

The group was finally next to the ship so they could communicate with each other without shouting all the distance.

"Well done my boy! I guess I should have expected it, especially when Mr. Stone trusts you," Mr. Briney complimented our protagonist, "Thanks Sir!" Richter appreciated the compliment.

"There is one thing we would like to request from you Mr. Briney if possible?" Richter started to ask, "Let me guess, you want me to get you to Slateport City, right? Since your next stop will be Mauville City," the captain already guessed what Richter wanted from him.

"Yes exactly, that is what I wanted to request from you, if possible of course. We don't want you to do anything that you don't want or don't need to do," Richter assured him that it is not obligatory to help them.

"It's alright. Steven already told me to get you to Slateport City once you are finished here. He knew you gonna win and he knew you would need a way to get to Slateport City. I also got the yacht repaired and we are ready to depart any time. I already owe you for saving my life from that rampaging Gyarados, so this is the least I could do to repay you for that. Hop on board whenever you are ready to depart," The old man reassured Richter about his request. He was glad to help the young man in return for saving his life.

"Well we are as ready as we can get, so if you don't mind we would like to depart right now!" Richter hoped they could leave right away, "Sure! Hop on board and let's leave!" Briney responded.

Richter and his team boarded the ship and went over to their respective rooms they had when they first entered the vessel. Alexander and Auron had their own rooms while Richter, Xavier and Autumn shared one room. Everyone rested for a bit, because they were all exhausted after all those battles. Especially Xavier, who more or less, fought for the first time in his life and did so well. He not only wanted to impress his friends, he wanted to show everyone that he was not useless, that he could fend for himself. He may have never shown it, but he was sick of always begging for food, always being dependent on other, he wanted to achieve things by himself. He was really proud of his wins today, single-handedly defeated every single one of his enemies.

After about 20 minutes, Richter decided to gather everyone up again to start lunch.

"Hey you lazy bums, time for lunch!" He called out into the hallways towards the other two Pokemon's rooms.

Not even ten seconds passed and Alexander was at Richter's door and impatiently awaiting the meal, "Where? When? What?" he hysterically asked.

"Deck, now, sandwiches," Richter replied in between laughter, Alexander's insatiable hunger was quite amusing at times, "You can take my backpack up to the deck if you are so impatient and set up the blanket and pull out the boxes with the sandwiches in it. We'll be there shortly."

"Alrighty boss!" The Sceptile said and departed with the backpack towards the deck, but not before he did a military like salute.

Just as Alexander sped through the hallway, Auron was leaving his room. The two almost crashed into each other, if Alexander didn't jump over Auron's head and proceeded up the stairs as if nothing happened.

"I heard from my dad people categorize Pokemon into certain 'Natures' which is also an indication for what they are talented in. What would you say is Alexander's nature?" The shiny Lucario asked Richter as he was approaching him, "Jolly, definitely. I read about those categorizations, but they do not represent each and every Pokemon's talents. Sure, jolly Pokemon tend to be more active and thus a little more speedy as you might see with Alexander. Autumn on the other hand is a mix of gentle and naive, that does not mean her strengths are her defenses and her speed like the categorization would say. Many Pokemon actually don't only have one nature, Alex is jolly, yes, but he is also very brave and determined. You gotta be really careful to put not only Pokemon, but people in general in categories. Even if you know someone for a long time and you think you know them well, they can suddenly turn out to be someone completely different," Richter explained to his partner the concept of natures.

"What about me then? What nature do you believe I am?" Auron asked teasingly, though he really was interested in how Richter saw him, "You...You are at times hardy and at other times rash, but your strength is definitely your physical strength. But this is just what I noticed so far in every single one of you. We do not know each other for that long, so things will definitely change soon enough. But enough talk, I am hungry and Alexander is always hungry, so let's head up to deck and start eating!" The young man said to end the conversation and started walking down the hallway up to the stairs. Shortly after Autumn and Xavier came out of the room too.

"Come on Auron, what is holding you up?" The Leafeon asked with a smile, "Huh? Oh nothing, I was just thinking a little," the Lucario simply said. In reality though, he was just admiring Richter's wisdom. He was always so modest and gentle, but if necessary he can be harsh and ruthless to his enemies. He just knows how to work with the people that surround him even though he was living isolated for the majority of his life.

"Well, then time to fill your stomach!" Xavier stated in a playful manner and gave Auron a little punch on his shoulder, which came off as a surprise since he is usually always so serious and concentrated. The evolution seems to not only change appearance and power but also character. Now that Auron thinks back on it, when he was a Riolu he wasn't much of a fighter and was always dependent on his father, rarely did things for himself, but now he has changed too. He is way more active and was able to fend himself just fine, with and without Richter's directions.

He then decided to just ignore it for now and head up to the deck too, he noticed that Xavier and Autumn also already left to go eat lunch.

As the Fighting Type Pokemon walked up the stairs, he saw the rest of the bunch already sitting at the blanket with sandwiches in front of them. They were sitting in a big circle and seemed to be waiting for something.

"What you guys waiting for? I thought you'd be finished by the time I came," Auron asked jokingly, "We were waiting for you, you dummy! We can't start eating without everyone being here, that would be rude. Now get over here and grab your sandwich of choice before Alexander finishes them all off again," Richter joked, "Hey now! I don't finish them off, I am just usually more hungry than you guys...But now that you mentioned it, anyone gonna it that Lum Berry sandwich?" Alexander tried to counter. To his dismay though, everyone started laughing heartily because of his last sentence.

Even though they were really excited to go eat somewhere else, everyone still really enjoyed this lunch. The sandwiches were great and they enjoyed each others company, they ate and talked through the whole journey to Slateport City.

"Richter! We will be arriving shortly, get your stuff ready! We'll be there in about half an hour!" The captain exclaimed, he especially was happy that no other commotion happened on their way to Slateport City, "Alrighty! We'll be ready before we are there!" The young man answered right back.

That said, our group went back into their respective rooms and got themselves ready. Alexander put his necklace with the mega stone on again. Auron decided to meditate a little in his room, he used to do that with his father when they were waiting for something. Xavier was still admiring his new form and adjusting to his new power. Autumn asked Richter if he could brush her fur a bit, it seemed it had gotten quite messy, Richter gladly complied and pulled out a little brush he always carried with him from one of the inner pockets of his coat. He carefully brushed Autumn's fur back into perfection.

"There you go Autumn, hope it looks good," Richter said, hoping that he did a good job. He wanted all of his partners to feel as good as possible. They all went through events that nobody would wish their worst enemy, "It looks great! Thank you very much!" She answered with such a bright smile that the sun would look pale in comparison.

"Well then, if everybody is ready let us head back up to deck and prepare for our arrival. I would like to be in Mauville City before sunset," our protagonist told his Pokemon. Both Xavier and Autumn agreed without hesitation.

As the three left the room, they encountered Alexander waiting outside in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Hope you haven't been waiting too long for us. By the way, did you check what Auron is doing?" Richter asked his scaly friend, "No, only been here for five minutes maybe. And Auron is meditating, I think at least," the Sceptile answered.

Richter got curious about that answer and decided to check on Auron. He opened the door to Auron's room and sure enough, he found him sitting cross-legged on his bed. He looked very focused and concentrated. Richter was able to see his Aura flaring up and down the whole time and also changing colors various times.

"I see you are able to manifest your Aura, but you still have trouble keeping it stable. It is flaring up sometimes while at other times it is almost non existent. On top of that you seem change emotions rather rapidly, how come?" The Exiled asked his Lucario, "I just have a lot on my mind right now, that is probably affecting it," Auron tried to dismiss Richter's concerns.

"The amount of Aura you can use and manifest is not only linked to how concentrated you are, but also by your resolve. The colors represent the different emotional statuses you go through, every color represents a different emotion. At times you are doubting yourself, while at others you seem to know what you want. While you are happy at certain times, you are angry at others. Tell me, what is it that bothers you this much?" Richter questioned him further, he wanted to know what is causing this much pain on his friend.

"It's...It's...It's because of my father...," he finally spoke up, "He is the reason."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Alexander asked as he stepped through the door too, behind him Xavier and Autumn.

Auron switched his gaze from Richter to Alexander and the rest as he heard that familiar voice.

"It is just that, when I meditated I remembered all the other times I meditated before. All those times were with my father back then, back when I still had not much to worry about. When I remember those times I get happy, but then I remember the fate he suffered and I get sad and then angry. Angry at myself for not being able to help him at all. My resolve diminishes to a minimum because of that," Auron explained how he feels, "And what lets your resolve rise again?" Richter inquired further, "You...All of you. This second chance that you have given me, this family that we have established here. My dad would want me to seize this opportunity, he always was an optimistic person. It would do him no justice if I didn't at least try to make something out of my life and you guys...you guys have given me this chance and I cherish it very much. You all are the reason for my resolve and I will do everything to protect the ones that are important to me," the shiny Pokemon said in tears. Those were not tears of sadness but of happiness and joy.

"Shhh, it's alright Auron. There is no shame in crying. In fact crying is a very important thing in life, it keeps your heart soft. Because once your heart hardens and your feelings mean nothing to you, your Aura will vanish. Emotions are the key elements to any Aura user there is. If you ever feel sad, angry or happy or any other emotion, don't hesitate to show it, to feel it. The important thing is to not let the emotions overtake you. Going into a blind rage will be as destructive to your body and soul as not feeling anything at all. It is a healthy balance between everything that helps you," the young man explained, while petting Auron's back to convey safety and comfort to his partner.

"My goodness, Aura sure is a complex thing. Being affected by resolve and emotion," Alexander chimed in to give his comment, "Actually there are a couple more things that affect the Aura of a single being, but that is for another time. The different emotions also enhance certain strengths of an attack conceived by Aura. Anger enhances strength, but reduces your speed. Happiness is the opposite as it increases speed but lowers strength, while sadness makes it unstable and not easy to form attacks with. There are a lot more emotions of course and every single one has its own effect on you," Richter tried to further explain everything as best as he could right now.

As he looked back to Auron, he could see a strong, big and green Aura around Auron. This indicates high resolve while the color represents the color of joy.

A voice suddenly echoed through the ship, "We have arrived in Slateport City!" It was 's voice that echoed throughout the ship via the speakers installed in it.

"Richter, before we get to Mauville City. Could we maybe go visit him?" Auron asked his trainer, "Sure, I was planning on doing that either way," Richter reassured him about his request.

The others on the other hand were confused about whom they were referring to with "him", but dismissed it for now.

"Alright guys, time for our next destination!" The man in the coat exclaimed cheerfully to cheer up the crowd. This caused everyone to smile, even Auron who wiped away his tears just recently. Both him and Richter stood up from the bed and headed out of the room and up the stairs, the others followed closely.

Back on the deck they could see a walkway lowered down to the port from the yacht, right then the captain approached our group of friends from behind.

"Hope you have a safe journey from now on and thanks again for helping me out. Peeko and I appreciate it," the old man said, "No problem, really! I mean it was also in our interest to not die there after all," Richter jokingly said, even though that was pretty much the truth, "Yeah I guess you are correct there," The captain responded with a slight chuckle.

"Well, I hope you have a safe return to Rustboro City and send Steven my regards!" Richter said as he was going down the walkway, his Pokemon right behind him. The old man was waving goodbye at the group as they were leaving, while Peeko was exclaiming his own goodbye, "Thanks for helping us, have a safe journey!"

The troop appreciated their help on their journey, but it was time to part ways.

Back in Slateport City, memories started to come up again, both for Richter and Auron.

"This is where my journey started. Shortly after I left the ship that brought me here I encountered Reese and she showed me the way towards Littleroot Town, where my parents live. On my way there, I encountered Auron and his father," Richter told his friends, "We too came with the same ship but were hidden in a compartment in the ship and traveled over here to explore the region. Not with any particular reason, just to see a bit more of the world. We quickly ran off to the closest route we could find and well...that is where the accident happened. We were not even an hour in this region and I already lost my last family member. You could say it was not the best start into the day, region or anything really," Auron told his side of the story.

"My goodness, that is terrible! I feel sorry for you...my sincerest condolences " Autumn said, hanging her head low.

"It is alright, Autumn. You don't need to be sorry for anything, there is nothing you could have done. There is nothing anyone could have done. Sometimes life really is just cruel," the shiny Pokemon answered, his eyes fixated towards the route all that went down.

"Alright let us head out. Auron and me want to visit his father's grave and polish it up a little. I made a grave for him in a hurry because I had to bring the Riolu I found there to a Pokemon Center as soon as possible and as you might have guessed already that Riolu turned out to be Auron," Richter explained further, "But lets not waste any more time, I still want to be in Mauville City before sunset even with the little detour."

Right after he said that, he started marching towards Route 103, Auron right beside him. The others on the other hand stood there for a moment before following the two.

"You know, it has been some time since I have seen those two so serious. The last time Richter and Auron were so serious was when we were attacked in Rustboro City and when we went through Petalburg Woods," Alex whispered to the others, "Well it is the place where both of their lives connected, both of their destinies intertwined. It was clear that this is not a matter they would not be serious about," Xavier whispered back.

"Don't you think you are exaggerating it a little with their 'Destinies being intertwined' ?" The Leafeon asked Xavier, "Well I can see why you would say that, but it just seems too 'convenient' that Richter would meet a Riolu and Lucario on his and their very first day here in Hoenn, don't you agree?" Xavier responded.

Autumn still wasn't sure about that, but she didn't think too much into that. Same goes for Alexander, he just accepted the situation and decided to live it out. Right then, they also decided to finally follow Richter and Auron.

Back on Route 103, the two leading the group are feeling relatively anxious. Certain memories are coming back to their minds, becoming more detailed and vivid with every step they make towards the accursed place. Soon enough, Richter located the little part in the woods where it all went down.

"Its over there!" The young man said and pointed in a certain direction and started walking towards there. After another minute of marching they did arrive at their destination and it still looked just the way they left it. A simple grave with a stone marking that it is a grave.

"This is it...This is where he is lying..." Auron said under his breath.

Everyone gathered around the grave and Auron, trying to comfort him as much as possible. The emotions just overwhelmed him and he collapsed down on his knees, he couldn't help but to cry from the bottom of his heart. Everyone decided to sit down with Auron and just try to make him feel as good as possible.

"Hey! Who is making all this noise here?" A rough voice was calling out from in between the trees. Richter and Alexander stood up and turned around to see who was shouting that. Sure enough, it was a face that Richter quickly recognized.

"You...You dare to comeback?!" Richter sounded like he snapped for a second.

The Pokemon the voice was related to, was a Luxray. But it was not any Luxray, it was the one Luxray that was responsible for the death of Auron's father.

Right when the Luxray heard and saw Richter, he immediately took a couple steps back and a cold sweat started running down his face and back. He started to shake in horror as he saw who was standing before him.

"Hey, n-n-no need to show any kind of hostility. I didn't d-d-do anything!" The quadrupedal Pokemon snarled back, trying to act tough and not show weakness, but that isn't very successful when you are starting to stutter and sweat like a Snorlax on the beach.

Meanwhile, Auron was still too self-absorbed to notice what is going on behind his very back. Alexander and the rest stood by him in this time of sadness.

"Nothing?!You are trying to tell me that killing his father and almost killing him is considered 'nothing' to you?! Is that what you are trying to tell me?" Richter screamed, "Tell me ONE, one very good reason on why I shouldn't gut you right here and now and make you our next dinner!"

"Dad, what is going on? Who is that screaming guy, do you know him?" a soft and female voice said from behind the Luxray. Suddenly a little Shinx appeared from behind the Luxray's hind legs, it looked anxious and worried because it didn't quite understand what was going on.

"Nothing sweety, just go back to our pack. Daddy will handle this real quick," the father of the Shinx reassured its child and gave it a little kiss on it's forehead.

"Look, I have a child myself now. It was born just a couple of days ago, would you really rob her of her father she knew for only so long?" He tried to argue with Richter.

"Did you stop and think the same when you attacked his father?" Our protagonist talked back while slowly approaching his enemy who in return started taking small steps back.

"No, I admit I didn't think about that back then, but that was because I didn't know what it meant to be a parent, a father to be precise. I was naive and dumb and didn't know any better back then, but I do now. I know how it feels now to risk everything for your offspring, please forgive me," the Luxray begged as he bowed down his head to the ground as a sign of submission.

"I am not the one you should apologize to, I am not the one to forgive you, but he is!" Richter said and pointed towards Auron.

The second Richter pointed at Auron, he stood up from the grave and turned around and slowly started walking towards his trainer and the canine-like Pokemon. Tears were still flowing down his cheeks and his Aura was flaring in a deep dark red. Anger has completely taken over Auron by this point.

When the Luxray locked eyes with Auron, all he could see was a fire burning within and a feeling of dread befalls him.

"Please, please forgive me! I will do anything, but please don't hurt my child. I beg you!" The pack leader wailed, his head still bowing down before the two.

"Anything you say? Would you...die for your child?" Auron asked with a monotonous voice, no emotion could heard from it, but everyone knew by now how he truly felt.

For a moment the Luxray froze in his place, he was completely taken aback by that question, but he still answered, "Yes, yes I would!"

Both Richter and Auron were intrigued by that answer, they didn't expect that, rather they expected him to run after that question.

"I too have some pride and I know when I have to atone for my mistakes, for my ignorance," the father said and began laying down on his back, exposing his stomach, "As long as you promise that nothing happens to my daughter, I am fine dying right here and now. Just make it quick, please..."

"What are you doing, daddy? Why do you want to die? I don't want you to die, daddy!" The Shinx nuzzled herself next to her father's head, "Shhh, it's alright sweety. Dad did some mistakes in the past and now he has to suffer the consequences. Just promise me to not bother your mom too much, OK?" The father tried to calm his daughter down. That didn't help at all though, she still was absolutely perplexed about what was unfolding in front of her.

"No please, Sir! Don't take away my father, I only know him for a couple of days! I don't know what he did, but please spare him!" The little Shinx exclaimed towards Auron, with tears running down her face, but Auron's expression didn't change at all. He seemed as determined as before to end it now.

The shiny Lucario cocked his right arm back and aimed for where the Luxray's heart would be. He just stood there, menacingly for a moment before finally speaking up again, "Tell the world how you know it goodbye!" He loudly exclaimed and rammed his fist towards the Electric-Type Pokemon, the little Shinx closed her eyes and looked away in disbelief.

The earth rumbled from the impact of the fist, it cracked under the pressure of the punch.

Shortly after, the daughter wanted to look at what has happened to her father. She was absolutely shocked about what she saw. She began to cry even more than before and covered right next to her father's body.

"Wha-What? What happened?" A voice spoke, "Am I dead?"

"No you are not," Auron responded, "You are as alive as ever."

The Shinx wasn't crying because her father died, but rather because he was spared.

"Why didn't you kill me? I don't understand," The Luxray himself asked in disbelief, he was still unsure if he was alive or if he already entered the afterlife.

"Killing you would not accomplish anything, it wouldn't bring my father back. No, it would cause more harm than solve anything, there would be one more Pokemon in this world without a father and I can't live with such a guilt," the Lucario explained, "I just needed to relieve some of that anger and stress I have build up against you. Come on Richter, let us leave for Mauville City." The Pokemon with golden fur said and turned back to walk back to his other friends.

"I knew you couldn't bring it over you to kill someone's parent," Alexander said as Auron approached, "I really was about to kill him, not gonna lie. But I also remembered what I just said, it would not have changed anything. My dad would not have wanted that to happen either," Auron replied.

Meanwhile Richter was having one last little talk with that Luxray.

"Listen up well, we have no intention to kill anyone of you. I knew he wouldn't kill you that is why I didn't stop him in the first place and I only kill if I have to. There is one condition though," the hooded figure said, "What condition?" The Luxray quickly asked and got back up on his feet, "You won't simply attack anyone who stumbles into your territory as well as you will protect this grave here with all your pack, pride and life! That is the least you owe us, no, that is the least you owe him!"

"Y-Yes of course, I'll do that!" The father was a little hesitant at first but gladly agreed to the proposal.

This made Richter smile. He crouched down to the height of the Pokemon and started petting its and its daughters head, "Never underestimate the value of family. You will truly appreciate it once you don't have it anymore, but I hope that will never happen to you. So, please, be more considerate with others. Of course you have to hunt for food and you guys are carnivorous, but that doesn't mean you have to attack anything that moves or breaths," the young man tried to explain this basic concept of life to the Pokemon, "Alright, thank you Sir!" The Shinx replied.

Everyone was glad that this situation was dealt with, without spilling anymore unnecessary blood and causing any more pain and grief than there already is.

Together, the group, fixed up the grave even more. They put more stones around it and made the earth even. Then they finally left and headed towards Mauville City, their next stop!


	22. Chapter 21: Pride comes before a Fall

**Pride comes before a Fall**

Back en route to Mauville City, our group was happily walking through Route 110 towards their next destination. As they walked through the bushed on the route, a family of two Manectrics and three Electrikes passed by. The kids were tumbling through the grass and laughing happily as they played together. One of them accidentally bumped into Richter and Auron, who were leading the way.

"Huh, hi there little one. Enjoying yourselves there?" The Lucario asked with a warm smile, "Yes! We are having lots of fun! Wanna join us, Sir?" The small, green Pokemon asked, hoping that he would say yes.

"Come on sweetie, don't go around and bother people you don't know," the female Manectric called out to one of its offspring as she slowly approached it. The male one right behind her.

"Oh don't worry Ma'am, he doesn't bother us," Richter spoke up to reassure the mother that her child was no bother, "But you should still make teach him to not approach everyone like this, some trainers and people might mistake it as an attack."

"Yes, you are absolutely right, but he jus- Wait a second, you can understand us?" The mother was shocked by this revelation, "This is the first time I am encountering a human that can understand Pokemon!"

"Well yes, it definitely isn't a very common trait among us humans and with that I mean there is maybe a handful of humans in the whole world that can speak with and understand Pokemon," the young man enlightened the female electric type Pokemon.

"This sure is a coincidence since another human recently passed by here that was able to do so too. It was a woman in a group of people clothed in purple and the initials 'NT' on the back. Sure were weird people if you ask me, but they were nice enough to drop some berries for us so we didn't mind it too much," the father told Richter.

It was at this moment where Richter's heart skipped a beat and his facial expression changed from a warm smile into one of disbelief.

"Excuse me, but do you mind telling me where those people headed off to?" Richter inquired the family, "They went further through the route and it only leads to Mauville City, so I would presume that is where they were heading to," the father explained.

"Thank you very much, I was actually looking for those people. Have a wonderful day and keep a watchful eye on your little ones here," were the final words of the hooded man before he departed towards the big city's direction again. His team quickly gathered right next to him.

"Do you think it is them...?" Auron carefully asked, he too could already see that Richter was upset. He didn't even need to read his Aura to know that his trainer was furious.

"I don't think it can be anyone else really. I just can't believe they have the audacity to come back into my life after so many years. After everything my parents went through to save me from them, they just decide to come back when I thought thinks might turn for the better, but no! They think they have to meddle with me and other people, with their ridiculous plan of creating a new world. Saying that it will be the best for Pokemon, pfff as if!" The young man pouted as he marched down the route with increased speed.

"We should be careful though, they don't seem to be the kind if people that rush in and do things. They seem to have a plan, or at least an ulterior motive," Xavier tried to warn his master, "I know, this may or may not be a trap for me. They seem to be very keen about me, so it wouldn't surprise me if they knew I am heading towards Mauville City right now, but at the same time I need to find out what they want from me. And there is only one way to find out!" Richter retorted without even looking at Xavier. His gaze was fixed on the path ahead.

His Pokemon were really concerned about him, he knew that but it didn't change his mind. He wanted to solve this mystery once and for all. He quickly arrived at the southern gate of Mauville City where two guys in purple uniforms stood guard.

Richter approached them with an angry grimace, "Excuse us Sir, but Mauville City is currently under quarantine," the right guard said, "Says who?" Richter quickly retorted, "Team Neo Terra, we will make a better world for Pokemon. Please respect this decision and leave this area immediately," the right guard explained further.

"Wait, isn't this the guy the admin was waiting fo-" The left guard was about to reveal Richter identity but was quickly silenced by having the head of the other guard collide with his own head. The hollow sound resulting from those two skulls colliding was kinda satisfying to hear.

"Richter I believe you heard what he was about to say, they are waiting for you," Xavier insisted on Richter to be careful again, "Xavier, I know. The only reason I am doing this is because I know you guys got my back. Together we can overcome any obstacle. I may be angry right now, but I won't put you guys in any danger I know we couldn't overcome. They probably gonna try to separate me from you, what I want from you is to defend yourselves and help each other out before you try to help me. Understood?" Richter said as he removed his hood.

"Look guys, Richter never let us down! Now it is our time to not let him down and show him what we are capable of! Who is with me!" Alexander exclaimed towards the others in the effort to get their support.

There was only one response to that from everyone. A synchronized nod and a look of absolute determination, "Before we get on to this, everyone try to cover each other's back and don't worry about me too much. I'll be fine," the young man said and signaled a thumbs-up before entering through the gate.

Once through the gate and finally in Mauville City, they could see a group of people in the garden area of the city. Richter stood still for a moment to investigate what was happening from afar first, before confronting his enemies.

Through the glass door he was able to see a big group of Neo Terra sympathizers. On a little stage there was some guy with shorts, a shirt and sunglasses on. On closer inspection, he was able to spot a familiar face. That bluish hair and that suit were all too familiar, it was clearly Steven Stone standing there, shackled so he couldn't escape. Another relatively short man was next to Steven, also shackled. He had white hair and a beard and a yellow shirt on. The weird thing was that there were no other people here. All the shops were closed and the place was devoid of any other life than the ones in the garden.

"Alright, time to roll," the young man said. He put his backpack down and doffed off his coat next to it, he only took his trusty katana with him.

He walked back over to the glass doors and kicked them open. Immediately all the organization members turned around to look at the cause of disturbance, including the man in a shirt and shorts.

"Ah Richter, we have been awaiting you. Please don't stay so far back, come closer. You surely are confused on what is going on right now, but let me reassure you, all of your question will be answered. That is...if you make it out of here alive!" the man's smile turned into a devilish grin.

"And who the hell are you, if I may ask?" Our protagonist questioned the man, visibly angry about everything.

"Me? Oh I am no one important really-," "Yeah I knew that already, but I wanna know the name of the man that I am gonna beat up today," Richter interrupted him. The relatively tall man was gritting his teeth after such an insult, "Listen up kid, you better watch your tongue or I'm gonna cut it off. However my name is James, first admin of group Neo Terra," James introduced himself.

"Alright, and what are you doing here?" Richter questioned him further, "After you defeated Jennifer, I was sent to deal with you. But these two here just didn't want to leave," the admin said and pointed towards Steven and the other guy.

"Your fight is with me! Let the others go!" Our protagonist shouted at the admin, demanding to release the captives, "I don't think your are in a position to make any demands!" James shouted back, visibly angered.

James took a second to regain his cool, "Alright listen here, Kiddo. I have better things to do than argue with you about trivial things. Now let's just finish this up real quick!"

The man smirked before throwing a Pokeball in the air, releasing his partner in crime.

"Go Gallade, show him why I am first admin!" James exclaimed, "That's it, a Gallade? You know I have fought worse enemies," Richter taunted the man in shorts, "Oh but this isn't all..." The man mumbled under his breath.

Suddenly the Gallade was engulfed in a purple light and after three seconds, a new enemy was facing our protagonist.

"Should have known it was a mega since Jennifer also had a mega Medicham. I beat hers, what makes yours any different?" Richter mocked his opponent, "Watch and learn..." was his only response.

The other members of team Neo Terra stepped outside the garden area, they not even remotely interested in Auron and the others, which stayed inside to help Richter if necessary.

"Oh before you think you can call in your little friends there for help, let me make clear that that won't happen," the admin said as he pushed a button on his belt, right next to his Mega Keystone.

Out of nowhere, four pillars erupted from the ground and positioned themselves around Richter's team and an electrical current started running between them, trapping all four in there.

"My Mega Gallade is undefeated and that will not change today!" James boasted, "You sure have a lot of confidence in it. It is always amusing shutting people like you down, people who think so high and mighty of themselves just to see their arrogance being crushed before their very own eyes. Show me what you got!" Richter exclaimed and entered his battle stance, unsheathed his katana and poised his blade before him.

Both, the admin and the Gallade put on the same smirk, "Yes, show him what you got!" James shouted and pointed towards the young man in front of him.

In just a blink of an eye, the Gallade dashed towards Richter, already slashing its right arm blade downwards on our protagonist. With a slight sidestep, he dodged it perfectly fine and went on the offensive himself by performing a horizontal slash towards his opponent. With no success though, the Gallade simply raised his left arm and blocked the blade with his own.

"I don't know what Jennifer's Medicham did to lose to you, but I find it ridiculous that she lost to you. How could a Pokemon possibly lose against a human?" The Gallade taunted his opponent. While the Pokemon was busy bloating about his skills, Richter decided to finally shut him up a little and rammed his right knee into his face, causing the mega Pokemon to flinch back in pain.

"You should talk less and focus more on fighting, except if you want to bore me to death. Then go ahead and continue," Richter retorted to the Gallade's remarks, keeping a focused demeanor throughout. The Pokemon was seriously pissed off now, he fell for the taunt.

"You little piece of...!" The Gallade muttered under his breath before dashing right into Richter and unleashing a barrage of slashes. He has started a Close Combat attack, a deadly flurry of attacks, but it comes for a price. While attacking and after the barrage has ended, the user is wide open to any attacks of the opposition. It should be used to quickly and effectively dispose of the enemy, but it can be devastating for the user if the opposition survives and can counter attack.

As the sharp blades slashed towards Richter, he had to be extremely focused to not get hit. One hit alone could cause him to lose a limb or two, this Gallade was no joke. It was acting on its own and was not dependent on its trainer. This forced Richter to predict his opponent's move and could not rely on hearing the commands of James, this of course had its positive but also negative aspects. The negative aspect here is that the Gallade is blinded by rage, while James could keep a calm mindset and direct its Pokemon. Playing with the feelings of one's enemy could lead to you being able to force them into certain actions, making predicting their next move easier. This does not mean Richter was allowed to let his guard down, you should never underestimate a Pokemon in its Mega state.

The blades were clashing, sparks went flying. Neither side showed any signs of stopping soon. Richter was concerned though, his stamina was slowly dwindling from blocking and dodging all those attacks. The Gallade's attack were not lacking in power or speed, but slowly and surely the attacks become more and more sloppy. His precision and concentration was decreasing and Richter was hoping for an opportunity to counter attack soon.

Right then James' Pokemon performed an upward slash, but this time with both of his arm blades and full force. Our protagonist decided to dodge it via a step back, but was not fast enough due to his exhaustion. The blade's tips managed to cut through Richter's clothes and into his chest, but he didn't have much time to feel pain. This was the prime opportunity for a counter.

The young swordsman jumped up and off of the Gallade's head while he was still recovering from his last attack. The force with which the his human opponent jumped off of his head, caused it to be shot into the ground. While descending from the jump into the air, Richter sliced horizontally into the back of the knees of the Pokemon and with a somersault landed back on the ground, safely.

The admin's Pokemon groaned in pain as it tried to stand back up, blood dripping heavily from the wounds on his legs.

"I...I will make you pay for that!" He screamed from the top of his lungs and sprinted towards the wounded fighter, but just before he reached him, he tripped from the pain in his legs and fell. Right then with the little bit of strength left, Richter used Extreme Speed and rushed towards his enemy. With a diagonal upward slash, the young man cut across the chest of the Gallade. The momentum of the attack as well as of the fall, caused the Pokemon to spin and crash into the ground, all which happened in mere moments.

The dual type Mega Pokemon winced from the pain of the massive wound on its chest. Blood was gushing out from the wound, it was a very deep cut after all. It was trying to stand up again, but the pain and of the blood loss was just too much to bear.

"I believe this fight is over now," Richter said between heavy breaths, he himself was about to collapse from exhaustion. Only Auroros before was able to tire Richter out like this, it was a long time since he was able to spar with someone this strong. He definitely needed to brush up his skills again.

"This fight is over when I say it's over! Go Gallade, he is exhausted. You can finish him now!" James shouted towards his partner. But the Pokemon was just groaning from pain, trying to contain the blood loss as much as possible.

"James, you lost! Accept your defeat and help your Pokemon!" Richter managed to exclaim, "No, never! I never lost before! And he is not my Pokemon, he is just another minion that failed his job!" The man in shorts retorted, "This is not the last time we met but the next time will be, let me promise you that!"

Suddenly the admin darted off the stage and out the eastern gate of the garden, his mob of members following closely. In a matter of minutes they completely vanished. Even Richter was impressed by how fast they completely disappeared.

He quickly jumped up on the stage and cut open the ropes that were holding both Steven and the old looking man as well as the duct tape that was in front of their mouth.

"Geez, it was time you finally arrived," Mr. Stone said in a happy tone, "Thanks for saving us!" The old man added.

"As charming as always I see, Steven," Richter retorted to the gentleman's utterance.

Right after that, the young man rushed over to his Pokemon who where still stuck in that electrical cage. With a couple swift and precise slashes, one of the pylons, which generate the electrical field, was destroyed causing the surge of electricity to dissipate, freeing his partners in the process.

"So what are we gonna do about him here?" Alexander asked and pointed at the Gallade on the ground. It returned to its normal form now that he lost the battle and his trainer abandoned him. It is still struggling from its wound though, unable to move much at all.

Everyone slowly walked up to him and encircled him.

"So you have finally decided to put an end to my misery? Go on and end it, its not like there is much reason for me to live now that my trainer has forsaken me," the pained managed to mutter in between heavy breaths.

"Alexander, go get my backpack please," the short trainer commanded his Sceptile. He quickly ran and picked up the said backpack and brought it along with Richter's coat.

"I need you all to take a few steps back please," the Exiled said as he pulled out some bandages and a something to stitch a wound.

After everyone took some steps away from Richter and the Gallade, the young trainer started to stitch up the gaping wound on the Gallade's chest.

"Hey what are you doing?" The wounded Pokemon exclaimed towards the man giving him the medical attention he needs.

"Could you maybe shut up for like a couple minutes? What does it look like I am doing here?" The boy responded, focused on the task at hand so he does not mess anything up.

The Gallade was rather shocked and confused by this rather random action, but he decided to not question it any further.

After some minutes, Richter was able to fully stitch up the wound on the Pokemon's chest and proceeded to put on the bandages.

Everyone stepped away from the wounded to give him some space. Richter stretched out his hand to help him stand up, but after a few moments the Gallade slapped the hand away and tried standing up himself. The bleeding stopped but there was still a considerable amount of pain when standing up. He grunted after every little movement.

"Join me and my friends, we can get you to a Pokemon Center, get you healed up and give you a home. I hope you don't believe that he will come back for you!" The boy proposed to his former enemy.

"No, I can't! My pride doesn't allow it! I only joined James' team since I thought they would make the stronger, seems like I was mistaken. I can't just go ahead and join my enemy just because he offers it to me. I misjudged not only your strength, but also mine. I have to live with this shame now, but that doesn't mean I will not seek revenge against him for abandoning me. Letting me live through this humiliation, being saved by the opponent," the Gallade refused the offer.

Richter was sad and angry at the same time, he thought it was stupid that the Gallade didn't accept his offer just because his pride wouldn't let him. But who was Richter to judge him for that.

The Pokemon slowly but surely made its way out of Mauville City, everyone else just stood there and watched him leave.

It was not gonna be the last time they saw him.


	23. Chapter 22: The Fall of the Great

**Author's Note:** Holy moly, look who finally came back! Yes, I have been late, I am sorry guys and yes this chapter is also relatively short. To be perfectly honest, I don't quite now when the next chapter will be out. I will definitely start rewriting this story though. Thanks to amazing Beta Readers, I have gotten a lot of feedback that I want to respect and include in my little story here! I might also post a one-shot or two sometime soon-ish. Anything you guys would like to see a one-shot about? Don't hesitate and message me! Other than that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and have a wonderful day!

* * *

 **Fall of the Great**

"Well that is surely not something you see everyday, huh?" The old, chubby man said in a croaky voice, "So can someone tell me what even is going on here? Suddenly a new group of fanatics appear, force everyone to go back into their apartments, capture us, then out of nowhere a boy with a sword, his Pokemon which one of them is a shiny Lucario appear and has a head-on fight with a Mega Gallade and wins. He then patches him up and talks to him like it is a normal human being! I mean I appreciate the help, I just want to know what is going on."

Even Richter was a little shocked on how ridiculous all this had to look like to outsiders.

"You see Sir...I think I didn't quite catch your name," the young boy started his explanation.

"My name is Wattson, I am the Gym leader here in Mauville City and specialize in Electric-Type Pokemon." Wattson introduced himself.

"You see Mr. Wattson that is a long story..." Richter wanted to start explaining everything when suddenly Steven stepped in.

"Wattson my dear friend, how about you let that boy rest for now? Let him explain everything over a cup of tea some time in the evening maybe? How does that sound?" Steven tried to convince the Gym leader with his charming and soothing voice.

The usually cheery Wattson was a still a skeptical but agreed in the end.

"Ah by the way. Here, take this Richter!" The CEO of Devon Cooperation said and threw a Key towards our protagonist, "I actually planned on staying here for a little longer and thus rented an apartment for myself here, but with how quickly things seem to develop with these fanatics there are other more important things I have to direct my attention to. You can stay for a week in that apartment if you wish. If you have any questions towards me ask now since I will be gone tonight."

"Thanks Steven, this was really not necessary. I could have stayed in the Pokemon Center after all. I still appreciate it though," Richter thanked the young business man.

"This is the least I can do for you for saving us! Don't sweat it," Steven reassured his rescuer, "Oh, we should probably give out an all-clear signal to the people of Mauville, now that everything seemed to be resolved. At least for now, right Wattson?"

"Ah yes, that would be best for everyone. I'll tell nurse Joy to make an announcement for it," the chubby old man said and darted off into the Pokemon Center close by. Shortly after an announcement could be heard through the intercoms scattered throughout the city.

"All citizens of Mauville City, the situation has been cleared and everything returned to normal. It is requested by our Gym Leader that everyone should return to their respective workplace! I repeat..." The voice of nurse Joy echoed throughout the city.

In only a couple of minutes, people rushed back to the garden to see what was going on. Sure enough Richter and his Pokemon were the odd ones standing out.

"Come on guys, let's head towards that apartment Steven mentioned," the boy with brown hair told his companions. He picked up his coat, put it on , covered his face with his hood and started walking towards one of the other pairs of glass doors that leads back into the building complex. Steven saw that and motioned Wattson to come with him, who had already left the Pokemon Center.

The Gym Leader lead the group towards an elevator which they tried to enter, but they couldn't fit everyone in.

"Excuse me but could you put your partners in their Pokeballs please?" Wattson told our protagonist.

"Uhh, there is might be a slight problem with that. Only my Sceptile has a Pokeball to be honest," the boy said and pulled out said Pokeball from the back of his backpack, "Sorry Alex but I guess this is necessary."

The Sceptile just nodded with a smile as he was pulled into the sphere.

Since Autumn and Xavier were still rather small Pokemon and Auron was about the size of a human, everyone could fit in now.

"How come you only have a Pokeball for your Sceptile though? And while we are at it, how did you acquire your other partners, especially that Lucario of yours. A shiny non-Hoenn native Pokemon is quite a rare sight here.

"Please Mr. Wattson, I will explain everything later today. If you don't mind, I would like to rest for now. I don't think you could fathom how exhausting it may be to fight a Mega evolved Pokemon head-on," Richter explained as the elevator reached its destination and everyone got out.

"I rented apartment 4, it is located against the eastern wall on the south side of the eastern hallway," Steven explained to our protagonist, "I'll be at Wattson's apartment, its Nr.13. It is 3:43 PM right now and I'll be staying here until 9 PM. We are looking forward to your visit and please, don't let us wait too long." He added and left together with the Gym Leader.

Richter just stood there for a moment like a statue.

"Hey Richter, is everything OK?" his trusty Lucario asked while putting a paw on his trainer's right shoulder. The second the paw touched the shoulder, the young adult suddenly collapsed.

"Richter!" The canine looking Pokemon exclaimed loudly.

The sound of the impact when Richter fell made Steven look back for a second. Seeing the boy on the ground with his Pokemon around him, looking concerned as well, made him quickly run over to check on him, Wattson right behind him.

The boy's chest was bleeding heavily from the wound the Gallade caused. The damage was not only external, it was two gaping wounds which caused heavy blood loss.  
Richter slowly started losing consciousness, his senses numbing down. He could hear the muffled voices of his partners all around him, calling out his name in shock and disbelief. The last thing he saw before losing falling unconscious were the many faces of his beloved friends.

"Richter! Richter! Come on, get up!" Auron was almost screaming, but it was of no use.

"Wattson, go and get a nurse over here! I'll try to keep him stable," Steven told the local Gym Leader.

Shortly after a woman with short brown hair arrived with a Blissey, an emergency first aid kit and a stretcher.

"What happened to him? Where did he get those wounds?" The woman asked in a distressed voice while struggling to remove the coat and shirt Richter had on.

Auron didn't hesitate to help and ripped the clothing apart. The nurse was a little taken aback by that gesture but still appreciated the help provided. Everyone else decided to step back and give the professional some space. She stopped the heavy bleeding and proceeded to disinfect the wounds the best she could. After that was done, she started stitching up said wounds, the Blissey next to her assisting in every way possible and Auron refusing to leave Richter's side. Mere minutes felt like hours.

The nurse let out a big sigh and wiped away the sweat on her forehead, "Alright this should do it. Thankfully his wounds weren't too deep or else we would have had to operate on him. I am gonna bandage him up now, after that he needs to rest for a while. Still, how did he obtain those wounds?"

"He tried to protect us from those Team Neo Terra guys that kept Wattson and me as hostages, but they weren't so keen on having a Pokemon battle to settle the issue. So...he fought an admin of theirs head on, he won as you may have noticed by the team's absence but at a certain cost." The Devon Corps CEO explained the best he could without giving out all details.

"What about the Elite 4? Since the incident with Team Aqua and Magma they were tasked with protecting us, that is why we don't have a police force after all," The Nurse retorted.

"That is of course true, that is something I have to look into. Especially now that one of our biggest cities was under siege and people were held hostage, they have to intervene. These guys showed up in Rustboro City too, but thankfully we were able to force them to retreat. Since then I tried to contact the Elite 4, with no luck though. It is almost like they up and vanished," the businessman added.

"That is really odd," the young girl expressed her concern.

"However, what will happen to him now?" Steven asked pointing at Richter, still unconscious, "Does he have to go the hospital complex here?"

"It depends, he only needs to rest for now. His pulse is stable and the wounds are closed up now. If he has somewhere to stay and rest he can go there, if not, he definitely has to come to the hospital," the nurse said while packing the tools away she used back into the first aid kit.

"Luckily, I know he has an apartment rented here. It is number 4 just down this hallway, he was about to enter it himself that is why he still has the keys to it in his hand. He seemed fine even after the fight," Steven continued the conversation.

"The adrenaline his body was releasing probably kept him up and running even after the fight, but once the situation calmed down the body stopped the influx of it. He couldn't bear it anymore and just collapsed," the nurse explained, "However, could you please help me transport him over to his bed."

Without hesitation Steven and Auron helped Richter onto the stretcher and together carried him over to the door to said apartment, Xavier and Autumn right behind them. The short haired woman quickly opened the door so that they could bring the patient to bed.

"Does he have any friends with him or something. Someone should watch over him just in case if his stitches open up again or anything else really," the woman asked Steven.

"To be honest, his Pokemon partners here are probably your best bet. I am sure they would never leave his side no matter what," the gentleman reassured the nurse.

"Just tell me everything we need to know and I'll tell the others!" A voice echoed on the woman's head.

"Who? Who was that?" She asked in shock.

"The Kirlia behind you, I am one of his partner Pokemon and can communicate with humans via my telepathic powers. We will do anything in our power to help our trainer, but we need to know what we should and shouldn't do, please!" Xavier begged the nurse for her help.

"I...I see. I have never experienced a Pokemon talking to me. Well, you need to keep him warm and not disturb him. He needs all the rest he can get. If he does happen to wake up give him a lot of water, the blood loss has dehydrated him quite a bit. He isn't allowed to do any heavy lifting, fighting, climbing or anything that requires too much physical effort. He will probably out for today at the very least. He might be able to stand up tomorrow morning again, " the nurse started explaining, "Here take this. This is a 'pager' if you press this red button a nurse will come as fast as possible and see what is going on her, please only use it in emergencies!" The woman gave the Kirlia a little device.

"Thank you very much Ma'am, we will do our best!" Xavier promised.

With all that said, the nurse and Steven left the apartment, leaving the Pokemon with their trainer alone.

"Puh, thankfully nothing life threatening happened to him," Autumn said, feeling relieved that her master is fine.

"You are not the only one glad to know that," Auron added.

"Now we just gotta wait, just like after the incident in Petalburg Woods," Xavier chimed in.

"Ugh, I wish I could just forget that that ever happened," Autumn winced when Xavier mentioned that accursed forest.

"Oh right, sorry Autumn," the Kirlia apologized, "It is fine, don't worry about it. Gotta stay strong for Richter now," the Leafeon replied.

The three sat down together on the couch, Auron in the middle with Autumn and Xavier next to him. They just sat there and waited and waited and waited...until...A big growl could be heard!

"What was that?" The psychic-Type Pokemon asked while slowly turning his head towards Auron. Even Autumn was a confused on what she just heard.

The Lucario looked down on the ground in embarrassment, he was blushing too but you couldn't see it under his fur.

"Come on guys, you can't be mad at me. I am a big Pokemon and get hungry earlier and more often than you guys!" The canine-like Pokemon tried to defend itself.

"Now that you mention food, aren't we forgetting something or rather someone?" Xavier tried to shift the attention to something more important.

"I don't know what you are on abou- Oh no we forgot Alexander!" The shiny Pokemon exclaimed.

He quickly hurried over to the backpack he carried in after bringing Richter to bed and looked for the Pokeball. Sure enough he found it at the back of the backpack where Richter deposited it.

"Argh, how do you open these things?" Auron asked confused about the spherical object in his paws.

"I don't know it exactly myself, but I do recall that when I was still alone in the woods I saw trainers fight wild Pokemon. They just threw the ball into the air and out of it came their desired Pokemon. I guess that is our best bet," the Kirlia said as it jumped down the couch and walked to the Lucario.

Auron nodded and threw the Pokeball a little into the air, but nothing happened!

"Well that didn't really work, did it?" Autumn added as she also walked up to the other two team members.

"What about that button looking thing on the front of it?" The quadrupedal Pokemon asked curiously.

"Your guess is as good as mine, let's just try it!" Auron said before pressing said button.

The ball snapped open and out of seemingly thin air a Sceptile sprung out. Problem is that the Pokeball was facing the other three Pokemon causing Alexander to crash into all of them forming a big pile with the Sceptile on top and the other three beneath him.

"Ugh, finally out again!" Alexander was happy to be finally released, "Guys if you want to sleep, I would suggest the bed or the couch, it is probably more comfortable than the floor. Though the carpet is really soft," He said, feeling through the carpet.

"As much as I appreciate being so close to my friends, I would also like if would finally get off of me and the others," Auron in a rather sarcastic tone.

Alexander stood up and freed the others from his weight, "So, where is Richter and, more importantly, what are we gonna eat today?"

"Alex, you see, Richter is...how can I say this...out of commission.," the Lucario informed his teammate.

"What do you mean by that? Is he out buying stuff?" Alexander asked back, not understanding the situation.

"No need to mask the situation from him Auron. Richter collapsed and lost consciousness. The chest wound he suffered from the fight with the Gallade made him lose a lot of blood. We were able to call an emergency nurse who was able to stabilize him. He is now laying in the bed in the next room," Xavier explained everything important to his scaly partner.

"Wha-What? Are you serious? He was absolutely fine when he put me in the ball and also directly after the fight!" Alexander protested.

"True that, but the nurse said his body was giving him adrenaline and that kept him going for a while even after the fight. After that his body couldn't bear it anymore and just collapsed. It is basically the same situation like after he got poisoned in Petalburg Woods. This time though he will be back up earlier probably, according to the nurse he could be up and going tomorrow morning again. He isn't allowed to do anything that requires big physical effort either," Autumn added to Xavier's explanation.

"So the only thing we can do now..." The Sceptile started, "Is to wait and hope..." The other three concluded the sentence in unison.


End file.
